Final

1. his semester, I have stepped out of my comfort zone and into a much more creative area of writing. One of my favorites was the one i wrote about camping with my grandpa. I wrote it in a way that i will never forget the memory.  I went into extensive detail, and said the words my grandpa actually said. this was a very personal paper. I was very pleased with the end product. Another one that was sort of a challenge to me, was the one where we had to make a fictional story that was Halloween spooky. Mine had a girly sentimental touch to it, with the mom passing away, and the dad and baby seeing her again, for just one night. This one was rather hard for me to create a fake dialog, since I've never really written fictional stories. Again, I was pleased with the end of this one, as well. I also led the class in a writing activity where we threw a ball around and had everyone read the sentence they landed on. This activity is a fun way to pick a fictional stand point on your paper and also a good way to put writers-block behind you.  I'm proud of the work that I've created in this class.

2.My classmates have done such a great job using descriptive details. Some of my favorite blogs were, Katie G's, Laura P's, and M'Kenna B's. Katie reads a lot of books and writing shows. She lays her posts out perfectly. She also adds some humor and Whenever i have a chance, I like to browse her page just to see what she has been crafting. Laura, has a more serious page. However, she does have some humor in there as well. She is such a creative person. Her writing always inspires me to write. M'Kenna, has a girly page that makes me feel warm. Hers reminds me of other pieces that I have worked on in the past. Its a very sentimental page. All 3 are very interesting to read.

3.  I hope to post more in the future on my blog. I really enjoyed this. I will be honest, in the beginning, I hated the Idea that everyone would be able to look at my work. I write a lot of personal pieces. I didn't want anyone to see it. Over time, I became okay with the idea. Now, I absolutely love it. The title of my blog is Just Be You.  I was so concerned that people in the class would judge me over my sappy pieces. Although I didnt get to post that many sappy blog posts, I was okay with when I did. The title of my blog was almost a warning to others. To me, it says, "WARNING! SAPPY OVERLOAD".

4. I have always kept a journal some where in my room. There's so many notebooks in my room that I've scribbled into.  I loved writing in the journal. It always made me want to write more. I loved when Mrs. Fraser would give us a picture and we gave it a story. Honestly, sometimes the stories I made were insane. I want to keep journaling. I dont care who reads my journal, Im proud of what i have come up with.

5.

Take Cover!

Down the hall, from my bedroom filled with Barbie’s and baby dolls, was my brother’s room. He was 3 years younger than me and his room, like mine, had white walls with a line of wallpaper in the middle. Mine had hearts, but his had dump trucks. Some of the trucks were big and some were more like tractors. If the trucks magically came to life, they would run over each other. He had a bunk bed in the corner that was used for many things like space ships, or pirate ships. Since he was only 6, he wasn’t allowed to sleep on the top bunk, so that’s where the stuffed animals rested. The bottom bunk, came vertically from the top. When I got on the top bunk, I could reach the ceiling fan and I would layer as many stuffed animals as I could on one blade, and then rotate the blades and layer the next. Then, I would tuck a sheet into the top bunk. The bottom of the sheet was held down at an angle by dump trucks.

 “TAKE COVER!!” Mitchell would yell as he turned off the lights and turned fan on.


 We would dive into our shelter to stay away from flying animals. Occasionally, we would bonk heads or get hit with an animals, but after we would laugh and do it again. The best part was dodging the random transformers or trucks and Legos that littered his room. Sometimes, I liked to just lay on the floor after the fan was on and watch the animals rain down on me. I liked to guess which animal would stay on longest and which would tumble down faster. It was all fun and games until mom found out, because when she did, we were headed straight for an early nap. 

6.

I Love You Darlin

 

As the sun set, it seemed to set the sky on fire. Like a pastel painting, sending streaks of pink, orange, light blues and purples and red through the clouds. The tree lines seemed to turn black out of courtesy to keep attention set on the sky. The sound of the glowing crackling fire along with the screams of sequetas keeping you content enough to sit still long enough to adore the falling sun. The smell of the fire and the warm cup of hot chocolate keeping smiles on the faces of anyone near. Grandpa, got up from his chair to get the red Colman lantern. He came back with a smile of his face that seemed to extend from ear to ear, and asked, “Want to play Jenga?” he must have seen the confusion in my eyes, because without another word, he was dumping the blocks on the fold up plastic table and stacking them up, three blocks at a time, changing the direction with each stack.

He closed his lips and lowered his neck down below is big shoulders, pulled the small block out of the middle with his big fingers. He put it up on top and before I know it, all of the lose pieces have been removed and all that’s left for me to grab are the few blocks that are holding the whole thing together. In this game of luck, I seem to have held all of the luck to myself. The tower of blocks wobbled and shook but to my surprise, it stayed standing even though gravity was dragging it down, and trying to destroy it, the tower stood taller. Grandpa pursed his lips again and stuck his fingers into the tower pulling a block out. I’m not sure if the concentration in grandpa’s eyes tipped it over, or if gravity got the best of the shaky tower. As the tower tumbled to the table, grandpa yelled one of the most startling, loud sounds I’ve ever heard. “YAAAAAAYOOOOOOO!”  He screamed after the shock of his overwhelming booming holler, I laughed. Of course, we played all night.

 My mom appears from the camper holding my baby brother. By the way she was racing towards me, I should have known to run for the hills, but I was too busy playing. She drowned me in the nasty bug spray that smells like nothing you’ve ever smelt. The kind of spray that has the nasty sent that almost repels people as well as bugs. Grandpa, must have been bored of playing Jenga because he took advantage of the disruption. “How about a story?” I hoped up in his lap and waited for him to begin. “ four little Labradors, went to town to get ice  cream” there was something about a troll stopping them and the way the poor dogs got away by giving the troll some burnt brownies. I begged and begged him for more stories. It’s the same story he tells every time he shares one, about Indian Joe, and he jumps out of the bushes and yells. As grandpa shouts “EYE-YI-YI” he sort of threw me into the air. The later the night drew on, the quieter and more clam the stories got.

As we sat there in the blue camp chairs, the fire glowed under ash from the logs that were devoured by flame. The bugs got quieter and the lightning bugs ran out of light. The coyotes howled into the moon light as they searched for a poor lonely animal to feast on. We decided to close up camp. We folded the chairs and put away the hot cocoa mix. Before he turned off the lantern, I ran up and hugged him. He picked me up and hugged me tight against his chest into what he called a “bear hug”. Just before he set me down, he whispered into my ear, “I love you Darlin.”

7. I plan to continue to write creatively in the future. Im going to continue this blog. Writing like this, destressses me. It makes me feel better. I can get things off my chest in a healthy and creative way. This class helped me write papers in a much better way. This writing lets me be as personal or fictional as I want. I enjoy this so much. I don't like working on other papers, because usually, they're research essays. Those aren't fun or creative at all. 

8. I hope you continue to use creative writing on a daily basis. You are such a beautiful inspiring person, and I've always enjoyed reading your blog. I hope you have a merry Christmas and happy New Year. I hope that we have classes together next semester. Let me know if you continue to write on this blog, or another. I would love to keep up with the posts you'll make. 

scavenger hunt

T-O-U-C-H-D-O-W-N friday nights are filled with face paint, hand warmers, and skittles. jumping up and down chanting and screaming. friday nights are full of pictures, memeories, and laughts. 11-1 isnt bad at all! go kickapoo! #ibelievethatwewillwin

one thing this school has taught me is that, things wont always go the way we want them to. things get in our way. you climb the steps, only to be stopped by a bigger force(a door) #itsthecliiiiiiiiiimb 

sitting in class, listening to the tick tick tick as the seconds turn into minutes, counting down the time until the bell will ring. getting up as fast as you can, not to make it to the next class on time, but to get out of there as fast as possible #summersummersummer (something round)

gazing out the window, dreaming of blowing in the wind, dreaming of the rain. the drops landing on the soft leaves. imagining the feeling of a caterpillar crawling on its long stem. #wishfulthinking (nature)

Kickapoo is a school that im so glad i get to be a part of. many pf my peers hate it. they talk bad about this school. this is my home. i love this school, i love my friends. i cant wait to leave, but im also dreading it. this is my school. #dontsteponthechiefhea

Amy Peck is someone who i can honestly say that I look up to. she made me go to a first grade class, even though i dreaded it. she made me decide that i want to become a teacher. #Futureshaper

i dont know how many more times i can flip through these notecards, but i cannot memeorize these vocab words. i cannot fail this test! #gottagraduate (something square)

i was up so late studing. i worked so hard on this test. the questions were so easy! i couldnt belive that i studied so much for such an easy test. #howdidifail? (looks like a face)

when i see this, i think of all the meetings and events in this room. i remember so many memories in this auditorium #flashback (reminds me of kpoo)

take a minute, to see things from another angle. the way you see something, is different from the person next to you.  step back, reimagine its story. everything has a story. #backup (intersting angle)

confetti eggs, sugar skulls, paintings, songs, vocab, movies, and fun all describe this bright and colorful hallway. these halls are so bright, they could catch anyone eye. these bright colors, make everyone feel warm and fuzzy. #kidsagain (something a kid would like)

feed, burp, change, repeat. a weekend full of annoying cries and a big hunky carrier to babysit a doll. Friday night, inst bad. Friday is fun. wait until sarurday, youll hate your life #shutupimsleeping (something frustrating)

Food post: Chicken and Dumplings

We send Mitchell and Papa to the grocery store to get all of the things were going to need. First, we boil the chicken. After a couple of hours, we take the chicken out of the water and pull the meat off of the bones. Then we pour in some chicken broth, and carrots and peas. After that, we put the chicken back in and make our dumplings. We pour a bunch of flour in a bowl, and drop in some eggs. Once we drops those into the soup, we are moments away from eating. They only take a few minutes to cook, so in that time we set the table. I have been doing this with my nana for as long as i can remember. Its one of my favorite memories with her. I've tried many times to take it to her, after Ive made it all by myself, but it never taste the same. its always better when she helps. I've watched her make it step by step, she does nothing different then i do, but hers is Always better.

Flea market stories

The war was about to start, and Grandpa thought Dad and some of my uncles would get drafted. He wanted a picture of the whole family before we started losing members. Dad grew up on Grandpa's farm with four brothers and two sisters. One of my aunts married a rich doctor in New York. My other aunt traveled all over the place. She wasn’t married and says she's looking for Mr. Right. My other uncle was a lawyer in Kansas City. Another was a movie director in Hollywood. My third uncle was a worker in a toothpaste factory, and the last one worked in a grocery store. The difference in the siblings was obvious. When we were at grandpa's, we all bonded easily. The women, helped grandma cook and clean and all laughed as they sipped their expensive wine, that my rich aunt brought. The men went fishing in the creek with grandpa. All my cousins, and siblings and I played soccer in the yard. We pitched tents and played together all night. The next day, didn't go well at all. My wealthy aunt, slept in past breakfast, and made a mess of the kitchen when she decided to get up. All the other women were furious. They started to bicker at each other throughout the day. Grandpa asked for some help putting new boards on the barn. Dad, and two or the poor brothers helped out, while the rich uncles sat on the porch drinking and smoking big fat cigars. They began to bicker when my uncles called the other ones lazy. The children had witnessed the hateful attitudes their parents were sending, and started to act the same. Finally it was saturday, we were taking the picture. The photographer showed up late and the dog ate someone's dress, and someone left theirs at home. Anything that could have gone wrong, did. after 3 hours of posing, moving, reposing, smiling, changing diapers, feeding the babies, moving and, reposing, we finally had the picture taken.

movie questions

Can you know in three days that you love someone?

I believe that you can know that you love someone in three days. Love isn’t on as timer. You don’t just automatically say “whoop, I guess I love you! It’s been 6 months” love is a feeling. It’s a strong connection. A mother knows she loves her baby before its three days old, and just because she has to. Because she does. Love is love and it comes and goes on its own time. I saw a quote once, “love is when home becomes a person, not a place.”

 

Are teens very hard on their parents?

As a teen, I can see how we are hard on our parents. Sometimes, our parents become overwhelming. The bombard us with questions and seem to be drilling us for pointless things that we don’t even care about. With me, it seems like my mom always thinks I’m doing something wrong or trying to hide stuff from her. She knows me, and knows that I’m not that kind of kid, and still questions me. Parents sometimes interrogate instead of ask questions. It gets to be way too much for me to handle \

What are some good pick up lines?

Do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?

If you were a fruit, you’d be a fine apple

I’ve never heard any pick up lines that are actually good, they’re just funny.

Your hand looks heavy, let me hold I for you.

Did the sun come out or did you just smile

 

What makes someone a hottie to you?

I really like smiles and laughs. I’m not so much for looks as I am for a good personality. You could be with the cutest guy on earth but he could also be one of the coldest people you know.to me, when I find I guy that I like his personality and laugh, he becomes very attractive to me. I really like eyes, and hair too. But that’s only when he has a great personality. I like the kind of guy that makes you laugh all the time and you feel like you could be with them forever because they’re so amazing

Edward Hopper

Bailey and I were leaving. We are going to graduate in two weeks from next Tuesday, and I couldn’t handle everything. My mom was nagging me about everything. She was always asking things about my graduation party, and my future dorm room and repainting my room and how I was going to save my money that I got from my party. Bailey was such a good listener. She sits and lets me complain about everything.

“Well, I don’t like being big. Let’s run away to somewhere where we can be kids again.” She joked, as she tapped my arm before we went our separate ways to class.

I heard her sentence running through my head all day. That was a good point. So, after my mom went to bed, I gathered some clothes and my tooth brush and made my way downstairs. I started to talk myself out of this reckless decision.  Where would I get money? Where would we sleep? Where would eat? How could I afford this? So, I went up to my room and pulled a wad of cash out of my sock drawer. I wasn’t sure how much I had, but took it all. All of the money people had given me to start my future, was going on a road trip. I went downstairs and grabbed the bread, some ham and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, and a lot of chips and gummy bears. I also snatched some fruit and granola bars. I sketched a note to my mom.

Mom,

 Don’t worry about me, I’m okay. Bailey and I are going on a road trip. We will be back in 2 weeks, just in time for graduation.

                                   I love you,

                                                Taylor

 

I left before I could second guess myself. I drove my car over to Bailey’s house and stood underneath the balcony outside her bedroom. I made a “Romeo” move and threw a couple rocks outside her bedroom window, but I didn’t really want to wake her parents up so I just called her.

“Bailey. Get up get dressed and let’s go. We’re going on a road trip.”

“You’re an idiot.” She grumbled as she hung up on me

So, I did what any normal person would do. I wrapped my legs around the pillar and inched up, to the balcony and walked in her room. I started packing her a bag.

“Listen. You either get up and shimmy down the drain pipe, or ill throw you off the balcony. Your choice.” I gently said.

Hours later, we were on our way. We started to run out of gas, so we pulled up to this really old looking gas station. They didn’t sell coffee or pizza or hot dogs. They sold tobacco, soft drinks and gas. And the newspaper, but the date on it was from years ago. They acted as if they had never seen a customer before. The man hoped up and filled the tank for me. The woman inside was in her night down swatting flies. Rang us up. When we went back outside, my car was gone. The man stole my car! I turned around to ask his wife, but she waved as she walked out the door and into my car. We ran to the car, but the man drove off, with my money phone and food. We were stuck.

"The Man"

My wife woke me up last night around 3 am. She was sitting awake in our bed next to me, wearing her favorite t-shirt of mine. There was blood all over our white sheets and her shirt.

“There’s someone in the house! Brody! He tried to kill me! Go get him Brody!” screamed Rachel.

The overwhelming feeling to protect my family filled my bones. I jumped out of bed and got the wooden baseball bat out of the closet. Whoever was in my house was going to die. But another feeling came through my body. I stood at the bedroom door and turned around to look at my trembling wife. She was dead. Rachel died two years ago giving birth to our son, Paxton. How was she sitting there? At that moment, Paxton started crying from his room. I quickly shook it off. I wasn’t seeing her. It was just a dream. I walked into Paxton’s room and comforted the poor little boy. He stopped crying for a minute or so and looked me in the eye and started to cry. At that moment, he said his first word.

“Mommyyyyy” he cried in desperation. He had never known a mommy. I’ve never had eyes for any woman except Rachel since the day I met her. It was just me and Paxton alone in this life. I soothed boy and took him to my room. We laid in bed as he drifted off to sleep. I suddenly missed Rachel with all my heart. Life is so hard to live without her. Thankfully, Paxton has her facial features, but that makes me miss her more and more every day, when I see him, I see her.

I must have drifted back to sleep, because I woke up to the sound of Rachel’s voice.

“Brody, wake up! Someone’s in the house.” She was covered in blood again. I rolled over and tried to shake the thought. It was just a dream. It’s not real.

“Mommy” said Paxton

“I know baby, it’s okay daddy will keep us safe” she said in a calming voice. I rolled to face her, she was holding our baby and he knew her.

“Brody, someone is in the house. You have to go do something.” Said Rachel.

I climbed out of bed and grabbed the bat again. I went down stairs holding the bat as if I was about to hit a home run. I crept slowly past the living room. No one was in there. I went into the kitchen and heard a thumping. I left the window open. It was just a stick hitting the window. I lowered my guard and walked upstairs. I passed Paxton’s room and someone was leaning into the crib.

“Rachel? Is that you?” I said frightfully.

“What?” I heard her say from the bedroom down the hall. I ran in and turned the light on. “Who’s in here?!” I screamed, ready to kill anyone who approached me. A man dressed in black stabbed my leg and threw me to the ground. He ran into the bed room. I got up and chased after him. Rachel held our baby tightly and screamed.

“Leave me alone! Not today!”

Threw dark shape reached his hand out “Now.” The deep voice boomed.

“I’ve got to go, I’ll be back. Don’t worry boys. I’m watching out for you. Take care of Paxton baby.” She kissed my lips long and softly. She put down the baby and kissed his forehead. “I love you both so much.” She followed the man through the door.

‘Rachel no. please stay. Don’t leave me again. I can’t live without you.”

“I’m doing this to keep you both safe” she implied

“From what? I don’t understand”

“When I passed away in the OR the day Paxton was born, The Man gave me a choice. I either had to give you up, or the baby. I told him I would go. I knew you could do this. I knew you would take care of him. I need to go now, or he will kill Paxton. I will come back, I promise. Good bye, I love you Brody.”

As she walked away, I could still feel her kiss on my lips and the warmth of her hand on my arm. I just lost her again. I lost her again!