Learning To Be Brave.

Author's Note: Taking a stand, being brave. Some of us may be capable of standing up for what's right and some of us might live in the shadows. In The Hunger Games , Katniss shows this quality and many more. This is my theme essay. Enjoy. 

Imagine this, you are placed in an arena with 23 other people who are trying to kill you and you need to make it out alive. Wouldn’t we all show a little bravery? A little independence? In the book, The Hunger Games by: Suzanne Collins, Katniss shows everyone her courage as she steps up and takes the place of her sister in a life threatening situation. The real themes of this book include bravery, courage, and also trust through what the author does within the book.

The courage and the nerve of Katniss Everdeen is extraordinary. She is willing to die for her sister and make sure she doesn’t get hurt. Even before the Hunger Games happens, Katniss provides for her sister and mom after their father dies. That to me just shows her courage, willing to step up to any extent to protect her family. Life has been so hard for her but she still manages to put others before. In another book, Harry Potter: Sorcerers Stone , Lily and James Potter both die to save their son, Harry, from the evil Lord Voldemort. In both books, the characters show their courage and how much they love their families.

Katniss’ family wasn’t the only thing she was trying to fight for  while being in the hunger games. Their capital/ government was so cruel to the people who live in the country or districts if you will. Sixteen year old Katniss wanted to stand up to them. A young, 16 year old girl standing up to the almighty, powerful government? Doesn’t seem too likely but, with Katniss’ bravery, she makes herself visible to them. She stuck up to the capital, to the people of Panem. She twisted the rules of the hunger games to trick the capital. Katniss is a person who has this aggressive urge to always do the right thing. This urge is demonstrated through her actions and passions. During the hunger games, you are not allowed to wear pins or jewelry. In Katniss’ wardrobe, she wears with pride a mockingjay pin that symbolises her district and to all whom she respects. Her bravery and ambition allows her to be her own person and represent her district with pride. The district 12 is all full of mulligrubs. Their spirits are low and their faith in their district is lower. Katniss gives them a new sense of passion, a new sense of hope in her during the hunger games.

Her trust in others lead to her passion and greatness. Whom can you trust when you are alone in the hunger games? Katniss had to find allies and place her trust in others. Rue and Peeta were her biggest allies. Peeta was also from her district and had sneaky ways of helping Katniss. Rue was a young contestant who reminds Katniss of Prim. She trusted them with everything and they trusted her right back. Katniss’ trust in them was a crucial way that she learned to survive so she could return home and help Prim; her younger sister, survive as well.


Now, I can never say I’ve been in a arena with 23 other kids who are trying to kill me but one volleyball tournament was similar for trust. During the last volleyball game of the club season, we were playing a 15’s team as a 13’s team in Illinois. I was the team captain and my friend Macy was the co-captain. After a hard 2 games it all came up to the 3rd to determine the champions. We needed to win, but I was out in this rotation so I had to put all of my trust in Macy to keep the team alive. She knew was she had to do and we came out on top. This relates to Katniss putting her trust in Peeta in the hunger games. Katniss knew he would be there for her as she placed her trust in him and allowed him to help her.

Katniss had an huge load of courage with all of the struggles she has to face. She faces them head on and takes pride in representing all in her district but most especially, her family. Katniss represents the main themes in this book; courage, bravery, and trust. She never loses hope in herself and that just allows her to keep moving forward.

Karma Will Get You

Author's Note: This is my prediction for the rest of the 3:15  story. I believe that him stealing from the man will come back to haunt him, that it will be a huge mistake. This in my opinion is right because they just left you hanging after the man died in the story and the boy stole his gold. I knew his mistake would come back to get him. 

Cody rushes home in the moonlit night. "I'm rich! I'm finally rich.", he thinks as he scurries along the path. Cody feels that he has successfully taken Clarence Buchanan's gold. As Cody opens the door to his little, one roomed home, he sets the golden hook down on the side table next to his mattress. "I'm finally going to be rich, aren't I?", Cody murmurs to himself as he glares at all of that gold. "I need some sleep so I can melt the gold and head off in the morning. I might even make it to Madison!" he thinks as he climbs onto his mattress. "That old man didn't even know what hit him."

Cody awakes and he puts on his nice clothes. "This is it, the day I become the rich man I so rightfully deser--wait.", Cody says as he looks at the table. There is no hook, just a note. "WHAT!, That was my hook! That was my gold!" he says as he rushes to the table. "Bury me with my treasure, that is all I ask.--Big mistake, boy." the note read. "How-iss--wha--t ---how is this possible?!" Cody screams as he glares down at the note. Is Clarence Buchanan still....alive?

Living Life To The Fullest

Author's Note: This is my character analysis/ development piece. I chose the character, "Charlie", from the book: The Perks of Being A Wallflower. Charlie started the book as a shy, depressed, young teenage who is dealing with the death of his best friend.Life has been so hard on him in the beginning of the book. He feels alone and upset. Charlie hopes high school will turn his life around. When Charlie discovers that there can be people in his life who cares about him. He meets new friends that help him through his new life experiences. This helps Charlie be open to the world and helps him stop feeling alone and depressed. Charlie develops through this story as a character and realizes there is so much more to life than what it seems.

Charlie

Shy, Depressed, Kind, Sad

 Who loves: Writing stories.

Who care about: His family

Who feels: Alone

 Who needs: A group of friends

 Who gives : Respect to everyone he meets

 Who fears : the reality of the death of his best friend

 Who would like to see: Change in his life as he goes on to high school. 

 Resident of: Pennsylvania

 Last name : Never mentioned in the story

 Charlie

 Imaginative, Happy, Lively, Not Afraid

 Who loves: making people happy 

 Who care about: His family and his friends

 Who feels: Lively.

 Who needs: To live life to the fullest.

 Who gives :love to those who need it the most.

 Who fears : Growing up too fast.

 Who would like to see: His siblings succeed at college.

 Resident of: Pennsylvania 

 Last name : Still never mentioned.

There are more characters in other stories that go through similar things that Charlie does. Another character that is very similar to Charlie in many ways is Craig Glinger. Craig is from the book, It's Kind of a Funny Story , where teenage Craig gets so frustrated with life that he just wants to break out, similar to Charlie. Craig felt depressed, angry, like he had no one to turn to, until he found friends. Even though they were in a weirder setting than he hoped. Craig wanted to jump off of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. He felt like life was too hard on him, that he wasn't made for this. After he backed out, he checked himself in to a mental hospital. There he got the help he needed and made friends along the way. Him and Charlie are very similar in many more ways than just making friends. They are both teenage boys, freshman, have a sister, live in the east coast, and they are trying to find a way out.  Both of these characters grow and develop so much over the course of the story with just a little friendship. 

Greatness.

 Autor's Note: This is my patriot's pen piece. It shows what I would say if I could talk to the founding fathers.

America was never a perfect country. We have had our flaws in the past and sometimes we make those same mistakes again but, we can only learn from them. All we can do as people is try to improve this country as much as we can. Our founding fathers did make some mistakes, but they lead this country onto greatness.

Freedom. In the Declaration of Independence it states that America is a free country. That the people who live in it have freedom and are free from the British Empire. Why does that exclude the right African-Americans and women? We’re all people; some are not superior to others. So why did our founding fathers exclude them from having everything that a white male has? This is one very important topic I would bring up with our founding fathers, if I had the honor to talk to them, face to face.

One of the biggest mistakes that this country did was let slavery happen. Slavery was harsh, cruel, and went on for way to long. Why did it matter what the color of your skin was? If I could sit down and talk to our founding fathers I would tell them that all man was created equal and that no one is more superior to others. That nobody on the earth should be a slave to another. I believe that this was just wrong.

Women’s rights. Do you know what year women got the right to vote? 1920. It was approximately 144 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed. If I get the chance to speak with the men who started our country, I would let them know that women are Americans too. Women are just as equal to men and should have the right to vote, have a great education, and be able to have the same freedom as men do. Granted; I believe that this country would be so different if we had women having the same rights as men, starting in the beginning.

Even though we did make some mistakes in the past, our founding fathers were all great men with great futures for this country. They knew that this country would have an amazing future in store due to them and I just have to thank you. The greatness that this country has the honor to be bestowed with is all due to our Founding Fathers.

Action to Result

Author's Note: This is my Cause/ Effect Short Response for the story, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. 

The story I will be introducing will be the story of The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  There are many conflicts in this story (as any other novel) but, the main cause and effect I am focusing on in this story is that in the very beginning of the book, the main character, Charlie, his best friend commits suicide. This happened even before the book was so called taking place in the world of Charlie but, it was a major event in the story. It is something that impacted the story tremendously.

The effects of Charlie’s best friend’s death were mostly just impacted on Charlie. In the story, Charlie didn’t have many friends to begin with so this just turned Charlie’s life around right off the bat. This story would have changed a lot if this event didn’t happen. For instance, if his best friend wouldn’t have died, Charlie wouldn’t have made so many new, older friends. If his best friend wouldn’t have died, Charlie wouldn’t be depressed and that is mainly what the story is about. This story would not have been the same without this event occurring. 

Resolving a Conflict

Author's Note: This is for my reading circle about conflict and short response. I am doing the Perks Of Being A Wallflower.

Charlie is now a freshman in  high school that wants to turn his life around after his best friend died months before. He wants to make friends and see what else is out there in the world. The main conflict in this book is that it is very hard for Charlie to let people into his life and share his thoughts and ideas because he has lost his bestfriend before.

This conflict get resolved by Charlie joining a group of friends who shares his same interests. Two seniors, Sam and Patrick, let Charlie into their group. They make him feel welcome and they allow him to have the confidence to trust people again. Charlie learns so much from having new friends and it makes him more appreciative of life and what it all has to offer. 

Happiness.

Author's Note: I have been working on this piece as free write work, but I realized that I could use it as our newest assignment. Mr. Graf showed us a piece about happiness, now I made this piece about happiness and dreams a while ago before I saw this piece so don't believe I stole from that author. But I realized this would be perfect for this assignment. This piece shows the raw emotion of how dreams impact our lives and make us individuals. And this can make us, happy. Feedback is very much appreciated so please feel free to do so. Thank you.

Happiness. It’s one of those things you have to seek out in life. As a 13 year old girl, I am trying so hard to find out what makes me happy. My friends make me happy, my sports make me happy, my activities make me happy. What happeneds when something that makes you happy, is not approved by others? What happened when your dreams are shut down? Please, just ponder on this with me for a moment. It is known that happiness is the key to life, so why not live as you choose? Others that are in your life may not approve, they may even tell you to stop and sometimes you can’t help but to give in to their commands. But why?

As you get older you start to realize, what makes you happy. You see what you want to do with your life and the dreams you want to have. People in your life may want you to see the realistic side of being happy and having dreams. In my opinion I know that we all have dreams and to me, they are one of the most important things to have in life. Without dreams, we have nothing. We have no creativity, we have not independence, we have nothing to look forward too. I am a person who dreams big. I want to live in the city, I want to be successful, and I want to be creative in my own way. “You may say, I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”-John Lennon “Imagine”. That song has so much meaning. John Lennon was a man with huge dreams. He wanted the world to live in peace with each other. Is that so much to ask?

People did shut him down. People told him he was too big of a dreamer and that he dreamt to big. Did that stop John Lennon from dreaming? Nope. So why should it stop you? People have told me and others like me to start being realistic and to stop dreaming so big. By why stop dreaming when it makes you happy? I for one will never stop dreaming so big because I don’t care how realistic you want me to be, dreams make me happy.

When people shut down your dreams, it helps us believe that things happen for a reason. Sometimes, you just want to keep fighting and sometimes that is the best option. In my life, I try to do what makes me happy even if other people don’t like it. Such as writing stories, playing volleyball, being in musicals, listening to music, dreaming about the city, and much, much more. It’s comforting to us dreamers that there are others that feel the same out there somewhere. Some of these people make themselves visible to the public. Such as musicians, writers, poets, and everyone else that lets their creativity and dreams shine. I feel as if we all have to accept each other. We all have to accept people’s dreams and what makes them happy.

Happiness truly is the key to life and we should all live how we chose. Through writing this paper, I realized that I cannot let anyone else tell me what to do or what to dream. I feel this way now because individuality and dreams might be what separates us from the rest. And for some of us? Being different makes us happy.

Book Ad: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Author's Note: This is my retelling of the book: The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This book can easily be the best book I have ever read only because I could relate to the feelings that the boy was having in the book. This is part of  a Book Advertisement in our reading center. 

Charlie is now a freshman in  high school that wants to turn his life around after his best friend died months before. He wants to make friends and see what else is out there in the world. On his first few days he becomes very fond of his honors language arts teacher and the teacher becomes fond of him. They became very great friends.

Sam and her step-brother Patrick and they are both seniors with different moms. They let Charlie into their group and they took him under their wing. Charlie felt like he had real friends for the first time. He experienced what it was like to grow up with real friends and saw the world he never knew was there. And that's all he wanted.

I Can Fly

Author's Note:  Some children grow up earlier than others do. Some experience more than others. In this narrative piece, I describe in full detail, the time I rode an airplane, alone. This is a District Writing Exam piece. Please enjoy!

I can't wait to see the world. I can't wait to be on my own. Maybe, just not yet. The experiences when I am young, all lead up to when I'm older. Like, flying on an airplane, alone. This is one of the experiences that happened when I was young that will help me be more independent when I am older. 

'Madeline Brielmaier' is the name that the flight attendant had on a sign when I walked in the airport. "That's me.", I said while rolling along my suitcase and my carry-on. I was flying back from Fort Walton, to Atlanta,  then to Milwaukee. I was on vacation with my aunt and cousins and I was flying home early for a volleyball tournament. Till this day I still don’t know why my parents let me fly home alone at the age of eleven, but it was something we all wanted me to do because the team needed me.

My first flight was delayed 2 hours because of a storm that was going over the south. I thought I wasn’t going to make it out of there. And I had reserved seating since I was a minor and I believed that would all get screwed up if they put me on another flight. “Were going to get you on a plane home, Madeline.”, the flight attendant said as she walked up to the crowd of people yelling at the man behind the counter, trying to figure this all out. She comes back about 5 minutes later and says “Follow me.”, with a smile on her face.

I finally got on a small plane that was going to Atlanta, GA. The biggest airport in the United States mind you not. I was really scared to be in there! The lady on the flight next to me asked me where I was going.  “Waukesha, WI”, I said as I look up at the woman. “Are you serious? I’m going there too!” she says with her jaw open. What are the odds? We were just talking for the rest of the flight about where we were from and where we are going. When my flight was over we said goodbye and the flight attendant took me off the plane and onto a golf cart.

Don’t you hate that feeling when you’re in an airport after a long day of traveling and you see that one person that gets to go in the golf cart that passes you by? Yes, that was me. To me that was the best part of that day. Riding around in a golf cart, picking up and dropping off people at different terminals was really fun! Remember, I was 11. It was a big deal.  When I was dropped off at my terminal it said “MILWAUKEE, WI DELTA AIRLINES” and all I thought about was, ‘Yes. I am going home. FINALLY!’ And I haven’t seen my immediate family in about 2 weeks and hey, I’ve got to say, I was homesick.

I was escorted by the pilot onto the plane and I was the first and last one on it. As I get to my seat it was about, 30 minutes till people started getting on. After about 10 minutes the airplane was packed! The last seat open was a spot next to me and in my mind I’m thinking “YES! I can sleep!”, but just as that thought raced through my mind. This big, scary man says “Excuse me.”, in a very harsh tone. Dang, I could have had it. The rest of the flight I was wrapped up into a blanket completely terrified of this man that was right next to me. At last, the plane comes to a stop. Everyone got out but me and I was escorted out of the plane and through the airport. I just wanted to run through it because it was about midnight and I knew my mom was on the other side of security. A lady in a suit coat takes my luggage and escorts me to my mom. I run up and give her a huge hug. I was even tearing up a bit but, I was so happy to see her. She took me home and I was reunited with my family once again.

Flying by myself was definitely an exciting journey and I really did enjoy it. It helped me be more confident when talking to people and helped be gain more independence as in individual. Also, it helped me realize that my parents and I will go to any extent to get me to a volleyball tournament. Oh, and one last thing. We won our volleyball tournament.

Ground Zero.

Author's Note:  The aniversery of 9/11/01 just happens and it had me thinking. How affected were the lives of the victims and loved ones?We all know the affect that 9/11 had on the people who lost loved ones. This hasn't happened to me so I'm just trying to figure out the emotions of those who have lost ones. This is not part of school work but I wanted to make a piece like this. Feedback is always appreciated!:)


“This may seem obsene but I keep living knowing I will see you soon. And I feel this way because life is a race and you have set the pace for now.”-Brittani Taylor

It is a beautiful Tuesday morning in September. I’m at home with a baby in my stomach that
could come out any minute. As I make coffee, I turn on the morning news and ask “Cream honey?”. “No, I’m already late!”, he says as he butters the toast out of the toaster.  This is my husband, my co-worker, and my bestfriend. We both work on floor 87 of the South Twin Tower and who knew on today, September 11th, 2001. That it would collapse.

“I love you!”, he says as he kisses me and the baby goodbye. “Call me right away if you feel as if today is the day, call Cathy to take you to the hospital and I’ll meet you there.” he exclaims as he grabs his briefcase. “Ohh I know the drill! Go, you’ll be late.”, I say as I hand him his coffee. He walked through the door. “I love you too.”, I say louder than normal as I put away the cream and sugar. It’s around 7 o’clock as I check my home desktop for work reports I can type on my computer that are sent from my boss. I feel like, today is the day. Today will be the day my life will change.

Its around 8:45 when I look up at the NYC morning news and see a plane hitting the North Twin Tower. Right as the plane hit the tower, I felt a kick in my stomach
I just stared in awe, thinking “Is my husband okay?”, “Why on earth did that happen?”, “That kick really hurt.” I look outside of my doorstep and can see the faint city and all of the smoke comming out of that tower. I took a shower and come back out in all clean clothes. And I look down and see that my water just broke. “O, God.” I think. I race to the phone to call my neighbor and great friend Cathy. “Cathy! My water just broke! and Daniel isn’t home!” I say and I grab my bag and cell phone. She races over and we get in her car. It is around 8:59 in the morning. I call Daniel, “Dan! Dan! My water just broke! Are you okay? Are you out of the tower?” I say as we race towards the city to the hospital. “Honey, I’m okay, me and the rest of the people on our floor are still in the building. We are going to leave as soon as possible. Honey! That is great! I’ll meet you at the hospital in te....nn...O.My....OH MY GOD. Rachel, I love you so very much tell our daughter I love her to..o....” he says as I look up at his tower. “NO! OH MY GOD NNO!” I say as I cover my mouth I watched my husband’s tower get hit and all I could see is him looking out of the window seeing that plane comming, and telling me he loved me one last time. All I hear is a ring-------on the phone. “Cathy...he’s dead.”

Grace Bennett was born on September 11, 2001.
Daniel Bennett died on September 11, 2001.

The police found parts of his body and identified that this was him.
I believe that is is all in God’s plan that Grace was born on that day and that I am left a widow from that day. But, why wasn’t it me in that tower instead of him.?
I join most of New York, grieving the dead. Since it was him and not me I will make the best life for our baby girl that I can.

Whom Can I Trust?

Author’s Note: Ahh when you smell that crisp fall air and see my summer tan fading, you know its school time. Welcome back everybody. I was going through some old work of mine that I never published from last year and found a few pieces I wanted to post. Now, I post pretty random stuff on here, stuff that isn’t even homework or part of this class. But frankly, I don’t care. I feel as if I can publish any work I have on here so on a sadder note. Here is a story I wrote last year about someone who figures out they were adopted. This person is stunned and angry because they have been lied to their whole life. Here is my first short piece of this school year. Have a great school year everyone.

Make it stop. Just make it stop.
I’m in a world surrounded with people
but not one I can trust.
I can’t imagine that anyone feels the way I do.
I’ve been lied to. This whole time.
This whole time, I didn’t know the truth.
The truth about the world that surrounds me.
The truth about me.

When you have heard nothing but lies your entire life, who can you trust? I just, don’t know anymore. Where are my parents? I may never know.

Zayn Malik

Author's Note: Well we had to write about a truth or a lie, obviously I picked a truth. I feel like I always find a way to write about One Direction in some way. And I think that that's okay. You know? Zayn Malik. You know, don’t ask me why I like Zayn Malik so much. I just, do. Once my cousin showed me a picture of them for the first time, of course she was Harry Styles obsessed, (Who isn’t?), but only one boy in that band caught my eye. That boy was Zayn. Zayn is the dark haired one with beautiful eyes. I think that is what caught my attention, his eyes. My eyes aren’t really a solid color, they are a hazel mix but, I wish they were just solid brown. But anyway, I started to listen to their music and realized that they are actually good. They aren’t just another boy band, they actually make good and quality music that is worth listening to. Now, I’m not the teenage girl type to get obsessed with boy bands but I got to say, One Direction took my breath away. I know, I know, Zayn is 19. And it’s not like I will ever have a chance with him even if I were around his age but, I don’t care. It’s only 6 years right? (Yeah, I tried to pull that one on my parents, didn’t work) I just want to meet him, maybe just say hello? I don’t think he or anyone else in his band try to be the teenage boy heartthrob that all of the girls go crazy over. They are just them and people love them for that. Their voices and good looks are just a plus! I have tickets to their concert in July 2013 and I enter contests to meet them or get front row tickets pretty much every day. I just want to hang out with them or meet them at least. I just want him to know I exist.

What The Future Has In Store

 Author's Note:  Hello again, for my creative writing group we were writing about the future. Like everyone else in the world, I'm not sure what the future has in store for me. I wrote this to tell you that your choices today are the choices you have to live with tomorrow. So why not make them good choices? 


People are all different. All people, have different futures in store for them. Most people wonder about the future. They wonder if they will succeed or fail in life. It all depends on the choices they make in their lives. If you make the right choices, your future could almost guaranteed to be happy. But, even happiness cannot cover up the bad choices you made in the past. Your life depends on who you are today, so why not be the best you can be today? Life can be tricky, life can be hard, but if you make the best of it today, your future will be your reward.

Let The Games Begin.

 Author's Note:  In gym class we recently played the Hunger Games in the woods out side of our school it was a lot of fun but it had me thinking, what if I were in the Hunger Games? The Hunger Games is merely a fantastic piece of literature and symbolism that was very well pronounced in 3 novels. I do like the story a lot but, nothing can cover up One Direction. This is just another story that is fun to write and rewrite about.


“Kaylie mail for you!”, my mom says up the stairs. “Be right there!”, I say as I place the Hunger Games book down on my desk. “Who’s it from?”, I say as I take the letter. “The United States Government, did you do anything wrong?”, my mom says as she watches me open the letter. “No, I never did.” I say as I start to read the letter. “Dear Kaylie Easterdeen,  We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to participate in the 74th annual Summer Program. Your abilities have proved yourself worthy of this honor. Thank you and we hope to see you this summer. And don’t speak of this to anyone except you and your family. Sincerely, President Sun.”, I read as I examine the letter. “This is a great opportunity! And look, it says you are going with....Peter Melik. He is that nice boy in your English class!”, my mom says as she looks over the letter. “Wait, if this is the 74th, then why hasn’t anyone ever heard of it.” I say as I think this could all be a joke. “It’s probably really secretive.”, my mom says. I say in reply, “That’s weird, in my book, Katniss just volunteered as tribute.”

My bags were packed and I grab my book of my desk, I’m at the part where Katniss and Peeta are on the train. I get in the huge car with black tinted windows.
When I get in there are men in black suits, sunglasses, and earpieces. They didn’t say a word. “Where are we going exactly...”I say since we have been driving for at least an hour. “It will be another 2 hours.” ,the man says in a deep dark voice. They have just been sitting there, staring, at nothing. I know it will be a while so I start to read. I pull out my book and the men start staring at me and mumbling. I just bury my face in my book until the car stops and I hear a boom.

The man opens my door and I step out and see a platform that can lower under ground. I’m told to step on it. When I do it lowers to the underground and I see a medicine bed and a bunch of stylists. They don’t say a word. All they do change my clothes and fix my hair into a braid. Wow, just like Katniss. “What is going on, why are you dressing me up like Katniss, WAIT. Am I in the Hunger Games?”, I say as the stylists finish and one of them places his finger over my mouth and places a mockingJay pin on my jacket. I am Katniss.


I place my book in my small bag and they take away my phone and everything else. In the book,  I am at the part where the tributes are on the podiums where the hunger games begins. Just like what’s gonna happen to me. I am told to stand on the podium as it rises and I see 23 other people in the same position, confused. I turn to my right and see Peter, him and Peeta are identical. I look around and see all of these teenagers that look exactly like the other tributes in the book. Did the government try to reenact the Hunger Games? I guess this has been going on for longer than the time the book came out. Why am I Katniss?

5...4...3...2...1. Everyone starts to run to the center where all of the weapons are. I start to sprint to the bow and arrow because it’s the only thing I know how to use. (since I took lessons as a kid.) I sprint into the woods but before I do, I see people slaughtering each other in the center or the Cornucopia. I guess this is real, this is the Hunger Games. I run as far as I can in the woods. I find a tree to climb and through my bag up on one of the branches. I climb up to the tree to the top. I look around but all that I can find is my book....WAIT! Thats it! My book! I can read that to see what happens next and what I should do. I don’t know if my character, Katniss, lives or dies, but I guess I’m going to find out.

I’m half way through the book and I have done everything that Katniss did. I’m at the part where the careers are looking for me in the woods. Just as I finish that chapter I hear, “Hey look, There she is! Common guys. Let’s get her.”, The big tall one says. That must be the Cato. I turn and run. As I sprint I figure I have to climb a tall tree to make sure they can’t catch me. I start to climb and Cato is right behind me. I get to a branch and pull out my bow and arrow and point it straight at him, I miss. “I’ve got you now!”,He grabs on to an unsteady branch and falls. “Lets wait here guys, she will come down sometime.”, Cato says to the other careers. They set up camp under my tree and I keep reading my book, it says that there is a tracker jacker hive nearby and Katniss gets stung by one. It says she has unimaginable illusions. Now, I don’t want that to happen to me. So I wake up early look around, find the nest, and grab one of my bow and arrows and start to cut the branch. It cuts and falls right on them and has the same effect like in the book. I couldn’t believe it worked! I really felt like Katniss right here well without the hallucinations.

I followed everything the book said and I’m still alive but, in the book, the people of the captial were watching your every move. Now, its just the people of the government. Now I’m at the part of the story where Katniss reunites with Peeta and defeats Cato. I found Peter while running from Fox face and we hid in the cave just like the book. Lucky for me, Peter wasn’t wounded. We had got to know each other well, he looked exactly like Peeta which was a bonus, but I had to focus on being Katniss and winning the games. Peter and I fought Cato and won. Peter grabbed me and said “Kaylie? Kaylie?” I woke up in the middle of English to Peter’s voice. “Kaylie? Wake up we are starting a new book and I grabbed you a copy” He hands it to me and smiles. It was the Hunger Games.

1D Day!

 Author's Note: In our writing circles, we had to create a holiday that needed to be made up. Of course I did a One Direction holiday! They are my favorite band and Zayn is really dreamy. I hope you enjoy this short paragraph.


If I could create a holiday, what would it be? One Direction Day of course. This would be a day where only the true directioners could get out of school or work and all go to celebrate One Direction and all of their beauty. One Direction music would be playing throughout every town and city in the world. All of the boys in the band would be in London, performing for their home country. (Well, except for Niall) And Skyler Bohn and I would always be invited to go from row because I made up this holiday. After the concert Skyler and I would spend the rest of the day with them in England. Everyone else in the world would just be listening to One Direction. It would be an amazing day that would land on July 23rd because this was the date that One Direction became a band on the X-Factor (or that is what I’ve been told.). This day would be amazing and filled with One Direction. I can’t dream of a better day.

Exictment That Turns To Tragedy

Author's Note:  Just another horror story in my creative writing circle. It has the same characters that the one I posted in October of 2011 had but in a different setting and story line. Just a little something I typed up for the catagory of horror. Please enjoy. 
 
“I can’t wait!”, Addie says as we get out of the car. “Yeah, tell me about it, that car ride was so long!”, Tyler says as she gets out of the drivers seat. “Haha, I know! But it will all be worth it!”, Adam says as she walks out of the passanger’s seat. “Wait, why are there no cars here?”, Addie says as she looks around the empty parking lot. “They said it would be open today on their website.” Tyler says as she checks her phone. “Well, maybe just no ones here yet, which means short lines!”, Addie says as she runs to the counter. “Tickets please.”, the elder man says at the counter with a creepy grin on his face. “I’ve got them.”, Adam says as she hands the tickets to the man. “Hey, why is there no one here yet, the park opened an hour ago?”, Tyler says to the man. “More fun for you...”, the man says as he points to the gate. “Sounds good with me!”, Addie says as she runs and Adam and Tyler follow. As they enter, the gate slams behind them and the lock was put on.

“Lets go on Superman! It has the biggest drop!”, Addie says. “Lets do that last, that’s always the best closer ride.”, Tyler says. “I vote batman!”, Adam says as she points towards that part of the park. “Wait, why are all of the coasters running...there is no-one here.” Tyler says as she looks around. “Well at least the workers are here.”, Addie says as she sees all of them staring at the girls. “This is kinda creeps guys.” Adam says. “Well we’re at the front of the line so lets go on.”

As the girls get in their seats, the roller-coaster worker says “Enjoy your ride....” she says as she starts to laugh as she presses the button. “Guys....I don’t like this....GET ME OFF!” Addie says as her panic attack starts. “This is super sketch guys.”, Adam says. “Guys.....hold on.” Tyler says as the first drop happens. Everything goes black as they go through a tunnel. Addie screams as hard as she can. “Addie hold on! It’s not that bad. Addie?” Adam says as she turns and Addie isn’t there. “TYLER! ADDIE’S GONE!”, Adam screams as she starts to shake. “ADDIE! Oh my god GET ME OFF THIS RIDE!”, Tyler screams as the last drop happens. The ride stops and Adam and Tyler push their way out of the harness and the roller-coaster conductor says “How was it.....She will not return. So don’t try to look.”The roller-coaster conductor says as she comes near Adam and Tyler. “Oh my god.” They yell as they start to run.

“We have to find her Adam!”, Tyler says as they start to run to the gate. “Wait...look! Addie is at the top of Superman!” Adam says as she tries to see what she is hanging on. “It’s definitely not a train car!” Adam says as they start to sprint to the roller coaster. They go through all of the lines and get to the train car. “You must ride to the top to save your friend who is hanging.” A whole line of creepy roller-coaster conductors say. Adam and Tyler strap in and keep a harness open for when they have to save Addie. They get to the top and Addie tries to climb into the car because it makes a sudden stop. “Addie hold on!”, Adam says as she tries to get Addie in the car. The car makes a sudden jerk and Addie slips and starts to fall. “ADDIE!” Tyler and Adam scream as they see their best friend fall to her death.

“Ohh my god Tyler!”, Adam says as her tears are clouding her vision. They both look towards the rest of the coaster and see that all of the pieces are breaking until the whole rest of the roller-coaster is broken pieces on the ground. “ADAM!” Tyler screams as the roller-coaster plummets faster than ever straight into the air after they came from the drop. They scream as the coaster plunges to the ground not on any track.

One Direction

Author Note: This is just like a fan-fiction. It is suppose to be a love story and I guess it kind of is, but it is between Skyler and Harry. This is a Creative- Writing-Piece that was in a group with. Enjoy!
 
“That concert so amazing.” Skyler said, still shocked from seeing Harry in person from the front row. “Oh I know, I can’t believe it!, Zayn looked at me and stared!”, Mada said still shaking after Zayn looked at her. “Yeah right! There were so many girls there. It could have been anyone.” Skyler says in disbelief. “Oh don’t lie, you think that Harry’s wink was straight to you!”, Mada comments. “Well, he did!” Skyler says lightly defending her case. We were in Chicago, shopping after the One Direction concert that was at the arena only 20 minutes away. We walked right into Ralph Lauren on Michigan Ave. Mada still had her Zayn Malik jacket on, (which was custom made because Zayn’s trademark is a leather varsity jacket) and Skyler still wore her loose curls with a British flag shirt. Our makeup was flawless and our hair fell just perfectly. “Sky, I’m going to go look at the button up shirts.”, Mada says. “Okay, I’ll meet you at the register.”, Sky says with her eye on a cute summer time dress. Mada has so many shirts in her hand because she can never make up her mind. She quickly turns around and bumps right into someone with a lot of polo sweaters in their hands. They both fell while laughing. “Here let me help you with that.”, the boy says. Mada looks up and see’s his deep brown eyes staring right at her, his smile was captivating as a fireworks show and his hair was unbelievable. “Oh my god.”, Mada thinks as she takes his hand. “It’s Zayn Malik”.

“You should buy that you know”, someone says right in Skyler’s ear. “You would look perfect in it.” Sky makes a subtle turn and her eyes are fixed on his smile. “Oh....thanks.”, She says as he literally takes her breath away. “Hey, don’t I know you from somewhere?”, Harry says willingly. “Oh, me and my friend Mada sat front row at your a few hours ago.”, Skyler says as she is recapping what just happened.”That’s it;) , wow you’re a pretty dedicated fan.”, Harry says while thinking then that he knew he had to find her. “I guess so;)”, Skyler says with a flirty smile. “Hey, was your friend the brunette? Zayn wouldn’t shut-up about how he had to meet her.”, Harry says. “Oh yeah, she was wearing the Z varsity jacket.” Skyler says trying to hide her nervousness. Then they both turn around and see Zayn and Mada hand in hand with huge smiles. “Wanna all go out to dinner?”, Zayn says as he looks at Harry and Skyler. “Sure, but let me buy her this dress first....what is your name love?”, Harry says as he turns to Skyler. “Skyler;)” Skyler says as she grabs his hand. Harry looks at her and smiles, “Skyler Styles, what a beautiful name.”

Semantic

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Symbolism Mada and Emilee

Symbolism

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Spring District Writing Assesment

 Author's Note:  The Hunger Games was one of those books that strives to take that risk of something that would never exist, but wow did it succeed! This is my District Writing Exam and I really tried to connect with the main aspects of this book.  I really tried to get inside the author's head and see why she made so many connections within this book. Not just the Hunger Games game where young adults fight to the death but the people behind the games. Katniss, Peeta, Rue, Prim, I really tried to understand all of those connections. Enjoy!

I look up into the faces of my competitors, seeing the fire within their eyes. 10....9.....8. I turn to Peeta, whose eyes were filled with fear, but his heart with courage. 7.....6....5. I peer up towards the screen to see all of the people that believe I’m Katniss, the Girl on Fire. 4....3...2...1 And fire I shall be. Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games, exclaims the passion and courage that this young girl Katniss has when she takes her sister’s place in a battle to the death. The author teaches us readers a lesson that no matter how old you are or what situation you are put into, you just have to be strong and find that courage to make it through.

“Primrose Everdeen”, Effie Trinket calls out. “Prim”, Katniss thinks as she used to believe that it was impossible for her sister’s name to be picked out of millions. “I volunteer as tribute”, Katniss says knowing she couldn’t bear to watch her sister go through all of this pain and suffer. She took the place of Prim in The Hunger Games, a fight to the death of 24 young people that is broadcasted throughout the whole country of Panam, just for the Capitol’s enjoyment. Reading this book I felt the knots in my stomach just multiplying, feeling as if I were Katniss. She just accepted the challenge of having the chance to be brutally killed, just for her sister. Katniss didn’t care. She knew that she could never ever see Prim die, not like this. I feel as if this was the first step the author took in explaining Katniss’ courage and bravery.

The author did not just stop there. During Katniss’ being in the Hunger Games, she fought to stay alive for Prim and Peeta. Peeta was the other tribute from District 12 in the Hunger Games and before they were in the Hunger Games, they had to pretend to be in love to gain sponsors and publicity. Being in Katniss’ shoes would be kind of stressful during this time. She had to pretend to be this fun loving, love struck, teenage girl when really she is a fighter who is full of courage and compassion. If I were Katniss, pretending to be someone I’m not would be an honest challenge indeed but, she accepted it. It was a main factor in keeping her and Peeta alive for so long during the games. To me, I feel that she and Peeta played it off so well. So well, that during the games, their feelings for each other became real. Katniss learned to really care for him. She learned what it means to be in love and so did Peeta.

I feel as if this next topic came up in my mind so many times while reading this book. What if I were in The Hunger Games? My life would change or be ended for sure. My main concern while being in the games would be to stay alive, but that wasn’t Katniss’ main concern. During the games, she cared for others as well as herself. The youngest contestant, Rue, was a twelve year old girl who just wanted to be with her family. She reminded Katniss so much of Prim, so much, that Katniss cared for her as she would for Prim. When the arrow was shot by a boy from District 1, the tears started to fall, and Rue’s life was ended. I definitely started to tear up while reading this part. I felt Katniss’ pain; she loved Rue and tried to keep her alive. After this, the Gamemakers announced that two members from the same District can win together. All that was on Katniss’ mind was winning with Peeta, for Prim and….Rue.

It doesn’t matter your age or the situation if you find that courage and strength, you can do anything. The author wanted to explain the courage that Katniss has and the bravery that Peeta now knows exists. Katniss and Peeta learned a lot about each other during the games as well as themselves. They both help each other realize that there was more to their lives that they didn’t even know. Katniss and Peeta both discovered themselves and who they are during the games. They both gained the courage and respect that now has been bestowed upon them.