You

Have you ever heard someone say “be who you want to be, not who others want you to be”? Lately I have realized how many people do not follow this saying. Kids try so hard to fit in with the popular crowd because if they are not “cool” enough to be in that group, then they are judged because people wonder why they are not good enough for some kids. For some kids, it is a big deal to be a part of school activities because they like to be social, but others just like to keep to themselves. Neither of these things are bad, but some think you are weird if you are not in the group that they are in.

In high school, it seems like everything is a popularity contest. Whether it is how loud people cheer for you at games, homecoming king and queen, or how many people say hi to you in the halls. Even if you are the most popular girl or boy in the school you will always have people that do not like you or that do not want to see you succeed. The key to succeeding is not letting any of those people get into your head, and not letting them make you feel like you are not a good person.

Some are shy, loud, joyful, sad, to themselves, or just straight up annoying, but they are all similar to you in a way. Judging them is the wrong thing to do, just think about how much you would like it if someone did that to you. I bet most people would not like it. So next time you feel like saying something bad about others, don’t because they are just being the people that they want to be. (300 words)

Brotha

Recently, my brother, Ian, got drafted to the New York Red Bulls for soccer. The Red Bulls are known for being a very good professional soccer program. After being drafted, I immediately got so many texts and random people that I did not even know came up to me and told me to tell him congrats. At first I was just like yeah it is pretty cool but not too big of a deal. When I got home from school and saw my brother, it finally sunk in. My eyes began to water and I gave him the biggest hug possible, I was so proud to call Ian my brother. Many have asked the question, “Do you feel famous?” or “Aren’t you jealous?” Well the answer to the first one is no, just because he got drafted does not mean that I am famous, it simply means that he has become more popular. Now the second question on the other hand is yes. I am very jealous of him. I have dreamed about myself going professional in soccer and now that Ian has done it, it makes me jealous. He gets to play with some of the most famous people in soccer history.
The Red Bulls play in April and I am most definitely going to cheer him on. I have been asked by multiple people if they can come with me and meet him. I find it very funny how only one of my friends wanted to meet him before he got drafted, and now a bunch of people want to. I will most likely just go with my family because family road trips are the best. Many people do not understand how much work it takes to even make the draft let alone be picked. My brother worked his butt off to get wear he is today. I remember when I was little and I would go and play soccer out in the back yard with all three of my brothers. Obviously I was terrible at it because I was very little, but just the fact that they let me play with them used to make me so happy. I still occasionally go outside with my other two brothers and play, but it will never be quite the same as having all three of them. This is why there are some bad things about him being drafted. I will only get to see him for seven days a year, and I will miss him very much. I know that this is what Ian wanted because he would work out almost every day not just to get better at soccer, but also just to play the thing that he loved most, soccer. My family is obsessed with soccer because four out of the six kids in my family play soccer and the other two still enjoy watching it. I do not think that there is one day that my family does not talk about soccer, and I think that my brother had the motivation to do well in soccer because he had his whole family to love and support what he loves doing. (526 words)

Mistakes

Nobody in the world is perfect, and therefore all people make mistakes. Some men make mistakes and just brush them off and say it is not big deal. Those are the kinds of people who cause trouble in life. These men will make the same mistake over and over again because they do not care that they made it the first time so they continue to make the exact mistake as before, even if they do not recognize it. If men fixed their mistakes and tried to learn from them, then they would not make the same mistake again, and that would help them not cause trouble and they will have a better life. For example, if a guy drinks and gets in fight every single time he drinks, he should notice that and try not to drink as much as he usually does. But, he may not recognize that he is doing that so he continues to get in fights and cause trouble when he drinks.

 

Other men try to learn from their mistakes and fix them so that they will not make it again later on in their life. This will cause the person to be smarter, and make better decisions, which is what all men should do. For example, when a guy drinks and gets in fights and trouble, instead of continuing to drink and cause trouble, he notices that he should not be drinking because it causes him to get in trouble. The man stops drinking as much so that he can control himself. If this man did not stop drinking, he could have ended up in jail. His future could be majorly impacted by that, and some people might not hire you for a job if they see that he was in jail. By making the decision to fix his mistakes, he is better off for the rest of his life because he does not want to make that mistake ever again.

 

                As you can see, good men will fix their mistakes, and try not to make the same mistake twice. If you do not try to fix your mistake, it can have a big impact on your life, and it would be in everyone’s favor if all men fixed their problems and mistakes right away so that they can learn and be smarter in making other decisions as well.

Word Count: 400 words

Support

Love. Trust. Friendship. These are all words to describe the relationship with a family. Although sometimes you may feel like they are not always there for you, they are. Fight break out here and there, you may say a few things that you wish you could take back, but just realize that you have grown up with these people, and they have never given up on you. Just think, did your family ever support you at games? If so, that is a thing that you should be thankful for because they took their time out of their schedule to come and watch you.

From the time you were little, until now, you have probably though to yourself, “wow, my relationship with my family has changed so much.” Whether it is a good change like getting closer and building a strong relationship, or a bad change like getting farther apart as the days go by. Growing apart from your family can be a good thing, or a bad thing. A good thing would be becoming more independent, but a bad thing would be not have a relationship with them anymore, knowing that you used to know what it was like to be close.

Most of your younger years are spent with your family. Holidays, going to sporting events, or just taking a road trip, these are the kind of memories that you want to remember for the rest of your life. Without those memories, you would not be the person you are today because the things that you have done with your family have impacted the person that you are today. Even the littlest of things can change your life and you should charish every moment that you can. Becoming you is the most azaming thing the think about and process because you have changed so much from when you were little. (372 words)

Equality

People are having trouble understanding why there is such a thing like gender role. To be honest, there really should not be such a thing. I believe that some girls are better than guys at thing and some guys are better than girls at certain things. Not ALL males are better at something and not ALL females are better at something. Everybody has something they are good at whether it is the same thing as the opposite gender or not.

First let’s talk about males. Most people think that males are all strong and they are all really good at weight lifting. The truth is, is that some guys may not be born with a lot of muscleto build, and I guarantee that there is a girl out there that could beat a guy at a weight lifting competition. Another thing is sports. For example, they think that hockey and football are both male sports, but I know many girls who play those two sports and are better than a lot of the guys.

The next thing is females. Females are consider the “maids” or “cooks.” Well yes a lot of girls are good at that, but guys are good at cooking too. For example, my mom and my dad both cook dinner for me and my family. Either by themselves or together, they both do an equal amount of cooking. Cleaning, I will admit that women are usually the ones to be maids. I think that the reason for that is because society makes it seem like males should not be maids, so none of them apply for that type of job.

As you can see, society is a big part of the reason why individuals believe that all male and female people are not the same. We may look different because of the long hair, and our naturally different parts, but when it comes to talents or being good at something, you cannot really judge someone for being a girl or a guy. A great example of being judged for being a girl is when the girls play the guys at my soccer practices. The boys come in to the game thinking that it’s and joke and they should take it easy. I come in thinking that it will be a good game. Usually it is a good game, and the guys don’t beat us and if they do, they do not win by very much. These are all reasons why you should not judge people by their gender. (424 words)

Best Friends

I often ask myself, what would I ever do without my best friends? I am constantly talking to them and hanging out with them. Although sometimes we talk back to each other and get frustrated, I always know that I can count on them for almost anything. Best friends are the people that you talk to when you are mad, sad, happy, or frustrated. You can talk to them about anything without them judging you at all. You can be goofy and silly and they still love you no matter how weird you are.

 

The one thing that I hate about having a lot of good friends is that sometimes they do not stay. Friends come and go very often and it is sad. Some might move away, some might not want to stay, some are cruel and some just give up on everyone and everything. It is sad to think that some give up because they start to not care about their future. For example, as they go on to bigger things such as college or getting a career, they might have trouble making it. College is something that takes a lot of hard work and you have to want to do well in school. Even the people who do not want to be there still work hard to get good grades so that they can go off to get a good career for their life after they graduate. When people give up on friends, it is very sad but it is most likely not going to affect your life as much as not going to college would. If you give up on school and do not go to college, then later, when you actually want to have money and find a good paying job, you will not be able to.

 

If you give up on everything, then you will find yourself to be lonely, and not having a job. If you give up on school and your friends, you will not have anyone to spend time with or anything to do in your life because you do not have anything to do. I find it very important to have friends. It does not matter if you have one thousand friends, or ten friends, having them there will help you through to tough times that you face in life, and that is something that is priceless and that should be valued.

 

Word Count: 406 words

Poem

I stand bare feet in the sand,
As the waves dance across the shore.
The dark sun peeks through the clouds,
And I break free by the crack in the door.
I become lost in the sparkle of the water.
The reflection mimics my every move,
As if it were a mime.
The flowers sweep the ground like a broom.
Birds chirp throughout the trees,
And fly across the sea with ease.
Even the fins in the water look at peace.
I collect the shells and make the memory,
Thinking about how tomorrow this will be gone,
Wishing that I could stay forever,
Knowing that I will come back never.


In line 3 the "dark sun" is an oxymoron because the sun is bright, but it appears dark because it is peeking through the clouds.

In line 4 the "crack in the door" is a surprising choice of words because the sun peeking through the clouds is like the crack in the door because you are peeking through the crack to see what is on the other side, just like the sun.

Line 7 is a simile because it compares the reflection in the water to a mime.

In line 8 is a personification because the flowers "sweep" the ground as a real person would do.

In line 9 and 10 the birds chirping in the trees symbolize freedom because they are free to chirp and fly where ever they please.

Line 11 is ironic because the fins in the water are sharks but are referred to as peaceful.

Line 11 is an allusion because the fins allude to sharks, even though it is not stated in the text.