Dogness

Ever since I can remember, I have always begged for a dog. I begged for a dog for Christmas, I begged for a dog for Three Kings Day, and I begged for a dog on my birthday, especially. I never had a dog before and all of my friends seemed to have one. My mom’s excuse for not adopting a dog was that she was afraid she would take care it all by herself. My dad’s excuse was that he was “allergic” and that I should just listen to my mom. He wasn’t actually allergic to animals. So years and years went by with me being dogless. 😦

Fast forward to the year 2014, my mom changed her mind. She finally agreed to adopting a dog. The only problem was that she didn’t discuss it with my dad yet. It took a couple of months for my dad to eventually change his mind but he did. I felt like I finally was getting things to go my way.

We went on the SouthEast Beagle Rescue website because my dad wanted a beagle. We saw Berkley’s picture and instantly fell in love. We called them and someone drove to our house and dropped off Berkley. We adopted him November 18th, 2014 and have been loving him ever since.

Beat Freedom

By Samuel

There we were at Freedom High School the score 17-17. They had just scored and tied things up we had the ball there was only a few minutes left in the game. We knew we had to score and we were making progress, however we were not getting as far down the field as we wanted.

As I watched I thought to myself what if we lose I had so much confidence we could win that I hadn’t even thought of that. We kept pushing but eventually they stopped us and our coach said it was time to kick and the reaction was mixed. We all had confidence in our kicker however it was farther than a normal kick and he had just missed another kick in the first half.

Then we all saw it, he made the kick and we were ahead and everyone was freaking out congratulating our kicker and telling the defense not to mess this up our coach said not to celebrate too soon but our defense was able to stop them just fine. Afterwards everyone was so happy and the bus ride was the loudest we’ve ever had. Then I realized that we just broke a streak, freedom had beat us for almost ten years in a row and now it was over.

Environmental Activism

byTrisha, Period 6

I consider myself an environmental activist. Things occurring on a regular basis such as school lunch being served on styrofoam plates, no recycling at my school and people throwing trash RIGHT next to the trash can really tick me off. If I could change these things with a snap of my fingers I would but unfortunately I can’t. So instead I join the ECO club at my school hoping to make a difference. In ECO club we focus on keeping our school clean and setting an example for others to do the same. I am happy I joined this club because not many people at my school has respect for the environment and maybe ECO club could convince them they should.

At one of the ECO club meetings someone had an idea to make a garden so maybe people would see that the school was worth keeping clean. About ten of us in ECO club got up at eight a.m. to create our school garden. I remember the ECO club supervisors bought hot chocolate and donuts for breakfast before we got to work. The first step in creating the garden was cleaning the littering, mulch, and weeds found in the area. I remember seeing milk cartons, pop tart wrappers, gum etc stuck in the dirt and thinking “why can’t people throw these items in the trash.” There was so much unnecessary littering it took us four hours to finish. Afterwards we had pizza and discussed our next move. Not only did it feel great to come together as a community to reach a common goal but it also felt great to see our school a little cleaner. (Picture is on next page.)

 

 

 

 

Paper, Glue, and a Huge Mess

By Marianella

Lately I’ve been working on human figures with paper, as a class assignment. So I decided to challenge myself and make two figures. It has proven to be very time-consuming and anger-inducing. Even then, one must prevail and conquer such things.

Then came the mess. For one of the figures it is supposed to have a hole in its chest, the problem was that I would now need to cut-out dried paper mâché. Which now that I think about it, using a drill would of been much easier, but it would not have an organic feel to the hole. So, I used an X-Acto knife to dig it out, which was very nerve-racking. That wasn’t even half the mess this assignment caused. Glue starts to get everywhere, the paper starts to limp and not stick. At one point I even got glue on my face, which was not very pleasant.

It was a pain to wait for the glue to dry as well. There was a moment when I started one of the figures and I had done everything except the arms, on one go. I spent the rest of the day checking on the figure to make sure it would stay standing. Also, making joints is harder than I thought. The standing figure looks like it’s wearing pants because of its bulky joints. Though, despite all the challenges, I finished the project and throughout the process, I received a lot of positive comments when I would take my pieces to class. So I’m glad that my classmates seem to like my work.

 

 

From 4 to 5

by Jash

On October 17, 2012, my whole life changed. My mother gave birth to my baby brother, René Vidal Sanchez. As an 11 year old I was so nervous to be around a baby, I thought I’d break him or something but I’ve realized that I love him more and more every time I’ve seen him since the first.

At home my job is basically to keep René entertained, which I love to do. He loves playing with trains and monster trucks, watching blues clues and going to Disney. For some reason he always ends up on my lap which is okay with my parents and I because they’re busier than I am and they usually want to get work done anyway, so it’s a win-win.

Still being as young as I am I feel that having to care for René much of the time is good for me. Watching over René has taught me about responsibility and a plenty of other important things. I pray every night that my bond with my baby brother only grows.

Beauty and the Chipotle Bowls

By Ashley

My spring break mostly consisted of me catching up on tv series and sleep. So when I finally made plans to go out for the first time during the week it felt as if I was being liberated. Beauty and the Beast is a Disney classic and was just recently remade. This time it was more realistic and the creators went out of their way to bring life to it. I got to relive my childhood with my favorite Disney princess. Yes, I knew the storyline and the events that occurred in the movie weren’t a shocker. The thing that caught my attention more were the advanced technology and the amazing job Emma Watson did playing the role of Belle. Disney couldn’t have a picked a better person to portray Belle. Elegant, smart and beautiful made Emma Watson the perfect french princess we all grew up loving. If you’re looking for a great movie for a family outing or simply trying to relive your childhood go watch Beauty and the Beast.

After the two hour movie we did work up quite the appetite and decided to head over to Chipotle. Chipotle always fills me up and hits that spot and always leaves me wanting more. I will admit my love for Chipotle may be considered an addiction but it was a great way to end to my day. I realized I wasted a lot of my spring break and could have went out more and had tons of fun and created new memories. All I can do now is wait for summer and make sure I’m active with friends and embark on new adventures.

Color Run

March 2017

By Ingrid

Today was an exciting day for me. I was going to go participate at the Orlando Color run with two of my closest friends.

I got out of bed and followed my usual morning routine and then headed downstairs to get a quick breakfast. After eating, I waited for my friend, Alexa, to let me know when she got to my house since she was my ride.

When I finally received her text, I left my house and went to greet Alexa and her mother in the car. Alexa’s mom was kindly able to be my ride for today since neither of my parents were free and the three of us talked the whole way to the event destination.

When we finally arrived at the Color Run I was filled with excitement. I had never participated in an event such as the Color Run and I was thrilled to be there with my close friends. Alexa and I took many pictures while we waited for our other friend, Patricia.

When Patricia finally arrived Alexa and I were able to meet Patricia’s family, they were all very kind and fun to be around with for the day. As time to start approached, Patricia, Alexa, and I all took pictures at the color run. A few minutes later we get in line and everyone starts moving and the Color Run has officially begun.

As we walked and ran the three of us had a lot of fun. We took many videos of people throwing paint at us and we were all having a blast. The powder from the paint made it pretty difficult to breath and see but it was still so much fun.

Once we had reached the end I was sad that it was over. It was a lot of fun and to be surrounded by joy was amazing. I hope I will be able to experience this some other time.

Orange Juice

By Alec

It was a day like any other day at the school known as Cypress Creek. Fifth period had just ended and it was time to go to B lunch. After waiting for 432 hours in the lunch line for food, I sat down at the table that I always sat down at during lunch. At first, I was just partaking in thought-provoking conversation among the members of the table, something that any respectable citizen of society would do as well. But then, I noticed the several empty orange juice and milk cartons that were just sitting on the table like the stone heads on Easter Island. I tuned out of the table’s riveting discussion to take up a golden opportunity.

Now, I am known far and wide and across many lands for being an exquisite photographer, partaking in many abstract art pieces in my long and accomplished career. So, naturally, taking a picture of these empty cartons would be the golden opportunity to once again showcase art in its most true form. I read the writing on one of the orange juice cartons to myself. “Mr. J’s Choice. Don’t be a meal skipper! Shape your future with nutritious school meals!” I took a moment to really digest the magnitude of the words I had just read. Surely, this was a bold statement about the human condition, and the broken school system! This would surely make for one discerning piece of art that would really tell a message to my millions of fans. And then I took the picture and all was swell, subsequently rejoining back into the enthralling discussion taking place within my lunch table.

Just a Tour

By Xio, period 4

You would think a tour must be boring huh? Well this tour was different. I signed up to be a volunteer at Give Kids the World. What I didn’t know is that I was signing up for all the tears that came with it. A Wednesday afternoon I show up at the volunteer center and hear we’re taking a tour. Great! Another boring show around buildings where I’m gonna spend my days.

Oh here come the tears. I never knew I could get so emotional over stories of other kids. Hearing these kids and how they’re wishes came to life with this wonderful foundation. Wow. Such an eye-opening moment. Going around from building to building, from memory to memory was such a great moment. Here I stand, filled with excitement, eager to volunteer, to be part of these memories. Never have I felt this way before.

Picture Perfect

By Angie

“Take a picture of me, take a picture of me,” one of my closest friend shouted, as she observed the lovely view. In that moment I realized how fortunate I was to be able to travel with someone filled with passion and joy of the world and culture surrounding us.That moment was one of the greatest moments of my life. Traveling with my best friend, visiting antique stores, looking upon the eiffel tower in France,eating gelato in Venice, dancing flamenco in Spain were all life altering experiences.

It also changed my form of life, my maturity, my evaluation and appreciation of life along with vastly diverse cultures. It’s something that not many individuals can do. It’s a once in a lifetime thing, and the fact that I got to spend it with my most adoring friend made it so much more beautiful.This place is just as heaven. The air is pure, the streets are ancient, the shops are luxurious. Every step you take there makes you feel unstoppable. Simply walking through the most enlightened crowd of people is astonishing. Their presence is astounding. Their interest and knowledge of where they come from is inexplicable.

Oh how I wish to visit this place again and hike the mountains of Switzerland just one more time. No matter how much I attempt to relate this world of beauty, it’s indescribable.The rush and sensation you get just when you feel as if your life is complete.

However , traveling there made me realize how depressed I would be once I got back into my old routine.The only fix to that would be residing there. We all know that’s a bit difficult.

Now, out of all the things I Was luckily able to expose myself to, nothing compared to the way the sun glistened on my face and persuaded my smile of happiness as I drank a cup of freshly brewed coffee besides my companion.

This traveling experience will always hold my heart and I won’t ever be able to pour how grateful I was to be there.