REHUGO Articles in the text book

Page 179 From Serving in Florida
The Surgeon as a Priest pg 197
From The Writing Life page 212
Page 235-246 multiple articles.

the link

mr.soeth here is the link to my blog entry http://mrsoeth.blogspot.com/2010/11/frustration.html

have a nice four day weekend =]

so i was talking to Daniel today and we were talking about hw my mother was going to korea tomorrow. then i said taht "im going next friday" and daniel said "cool story bro, go blog about it." So, here i am blogging about how my conversation went with Daniel because he told me to blog about it

On Campus, Vampires Are Besting the Beats

The beginning of the article talks about a student in 1969 and how everyone she knew was (at the time) reading "Soul on Ice," written by Eldridge Cleaver, her new collection of essays. Back then for this student( Alice Echols), that psychedelic time was filled with " The Autobiography of Malcolm X." "The Golden Notebook," the poetry of Sylvia Plath and the erotic diaries of Anais Nin. then it states how four years later you more likely to " hear a werewolf howl than Allen Ginsberg, and Nin's transgressive sexuality was replaced by the fervent chastity of Bella Swan, the teenage heroine of Stephenie Meyer's modern Gothic "Twilight" series."

It also tells how much the author of Twilight sold last year(2008), she soled ---22 million-- and the copies weren't all bought by middle-schoolers. that according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the best- selling title on college campuses are mostly about hunky vampires or Barack Obama. The article also described " Here we have a generation of young adults away from home for the first time, free to enjoy the most experimental period of their lives, yet they're choosing books like 13-year-old-girls---or their parents. " in a small paragraph the article stated that a question that has been asked for a while now, " What happened to the students who would buy challenging books instead of these students who take an easy-read book?" this question was also recognized by a professor named Eric Williamson, quote,"seen the students snicker when I said that Melville died poor because he couldn't sell books. Then why are we reading him if he wasn't popular?' "Today's graduate students were born when Roland Reagan was elected, their literary values, he claims, reflect our market economy." To me , this statement, its syntax was a more of an insult to the youths literacy.

The article also mentioned what Roger Kimball, a editor and publisher of the New Criterion, said about how market and economy affect the minds of the youths. He said that there were no problems in the economy but yes, the truth is that economical conflicts affect the minds of youths. The many concerns for the way youths are reading and writing some say: quoted by David Farber," that the way Americans think about the age of maturity has shifted considerably."There's much more an emphasis now on kids thinking of themselves as kids, even into their early to mid-20s." This quote does prove that perhaps because the youths would soon no longer be children and be adults perhaps writers have noticed this too. This could be one of the reasons why now the books read by youths are mostly fictional.

Towards the end of the article Mike Connery who writes about progressive youth politics for the Web site Future Majority, he is concerned on how young ones nowadays get to know their politics. He said that they get it off other sites such as Youtube or blogs.how their still looking for their Kerouac. At the end of the article it states how the Internet is a like a way to get information, as easy as looking at someone. They are concerned(literature lovers) of what will become of literature when the youths and the new generations to come have a new and easier way to read/write.

The audience for this article could be anyone/everyone who is concerned about how people, more on the new generations, will learn their literature. They now have access to any kind of literature through the Internet. The articles purpose could be to get you to think about how important it is to consider literature and how the new ways of finding/ learning/ etc.. affect those who refer to do the old fashion way.

Ugh-A-Wug-Waaah :)

"It's a full house, guys! We just sold out! And there's still a huge line outside to get in!" exclaimed Tamara, our choreographer. Panic and suspense shot through my heart while I wondered if my parents and my best friend since pre-school, Mary, had seats to see the performance. All of these thoughts raced through my head, a full house is going to go down in history of Kimball High's Performing Arts, since this has never happened before, but I'm so use of seeing familiar faces in the audience. Interrupting my thought, one of the stage crew members raced to me and told me that my mom was standing outside and she couldn't get in. Joey and I looked at each other, and we both were thinking the same thing, what will do in this situation?

I anxiously grabbed my phone and texted like a text-obsessed teenager with a mission. "MOM, ARE YOU HERE?! WHAT'S HAPPENING?" I could feel the tears about to run through my perfectly blushed cheeks. She texted back in the dreariest five minutes in my life.

"Mary cant come I wont b able 2 make it either, ur dad is there, have a good show:)" As soon as I read the text message, my heart dropped and I felt like I just swallowed a big huge tennis ball. I ran outside and pressed the buttons on my iPhone roughly to call my mom to ask if she was really serious. She didn't pick up the first time. I dialed again, praying she would pick up. She did and I couldn't hold back the voice of a crying girl. "Quinci, are you crying? I got in! Don't worry!" She said and I could hear the smile in her voice which was like a train reaction because I smiled. One of my friends in the show, Molly, came outside and told me that Mrs. Neylan was fixing the seats and my mom probably has a seat now. I turned around and she saw that I was crying, she hugged me until we laughed since she was in the same situation too. I could see how strong she was and it made me stronger.

We went back inside and the show had started, I decided to retouch my makeup in the dressing room where the pirates were waiting to go on stage. I looked in the mirror and jumped at the sight of myself, my eyes were blood-shot red and my eyeliner had made a stream on the middle of my cheeks, which made me even more depressed. I thought out loud to myself, "I can't go on stage, I look like a crack head Indian!" Joey and Nicole ran over to me and helped me wipe my makeup. I broke down again, saying through my sobs, "There so many people coming to see you guys, all of your family but I only have two people." Hugs were coming left and right from all of the pirates. They basically all said that we were all here for each other and every single person in that audience was here to see everyone. It made me realize how much of a brat I sounded. My family was right here, we're all here to support each other. I slowly started to smile and notice all the familiar smiles around me. I couldn't help but laugh at Tynan, Captain Hook and his mustache. I was finally all clear from the tears and got into character of being a brave noble warrior.

Looking out in the audience when Peter Pan and I did Ugh-a-Wug, I saw my friends, Gabby, Evan and Nikki sitting in the third role back and they smiled at the sight of me. I also saw Mrs. Neylan mouth the words, "You can do it." I winked at her and started the dance and song. It was the best we've ever done this show. I was really proud of us, my family. We went out for a bow and it was a standing ovation. I loved the feeling of seeing the crowd cheer. It really didn't matter if I had 2 or 200 people here for me, I had the best feeling in the world of people getting their money's worth.

After the show, my friends, Charlene, Abby, Matt, Gabby, Evan, and Nikki came out and hugged me and said how great I was. Then, I got asked for my own autograph from a little girl. All of this was amazing, but I wanted to see my parents. I looked everywhere and was stopped by random parents saying how amazing I was. I thanked them and smiled and finally saw my parents talking to Mrs. Neylan. My heart filled with glee when I saw them and they gave me big bear hugs and showered me with complements. That night I went home and researched the next musical we we're going to put on, Beauty and the Beast.

Getting into Peter Pan, I would complain about how stupid the freshmen were since they never paid attention and how bad we were going to look on stage. But my thoughts changed, that night made me realize how many friends I made and our friendship to come. Tiger Lily will always be a part of me. That brave noble warrior that will do anything with a passion.

By the way, thank you to everyone who came and supported us :) and this is late because I was absent on Monday, November 1st, 2010, when this was assigned.

Courtesy webshots, user: huney219

“IT’S TIME! Get in a straight line! We’re walking. We’re walking!” I heard the teachers and principals repeating. We were standing in the quad at James Logan High School, around 7:15 in the evening, starting to walk into the Pavilion, where hundreds of audience members waited to watch us finalize our middle school career.  My heart was beating so fast, I felt that on the next beat, it would jump out of my chest at any moment. I was afraid I was going to trip with my high heels the moment I walked into that building. I was so self-conscious, much regretting it now. There was no need to feel that much tension for 3 hours straight. I took my first step into the pavilion, seeing all the flashing cameras and much-too excited relatives of all my peers. I heard whistling and cheering from all around the building.  

I somehow managed to maintain a quick, rhythmic walk all the way to my seat, blending in with the other 350 8^th graders in blue. All the promoters continued to stand waving to their families.  We were waiting for the principal to say “Class of 2008, please be seated.” When Mr. Solórzano finally announced it, the whole gym made a *THUMP* noise, and all the students were seated within a second. It made me smile, since we had practiced that several times. Mr. Solórzano introduced the board members, and the class valedictorian. The superintendent, Mrs. Pat Jaurequi, then introduced her superintendent’s award. After that, the choirs were supposed to perform “In My Life” by The Beetles. I completely forgot I was supposed to go too, because I was in choir, until the boy next to me nudged me and said “Go!” so I almost ran through my row and to the back, where the most of the choir were standing. I was the last one there. So we sang…horribly, but the soloists did even worse. After the choirs went back to their original seats, two female counselors from our school finally claimed the two stands on stage. Everyone sat straight and switched their attention to the two women on the stage.  I heard the name “Jameka Abair”, who was one of my friends, and knew that they had started calling names. For each name, a different section in the audience, or even two, would stomp and cheer for the graduates. While they were calling names, I turned my head in every direction, especially in the back right corner, where I heard my name earlier, searching for my family. No luck. I knew they were there, I just didn’t know where. 

When it was my row’s turn to set out to the stage, I was glad there was only about 7 seconds between each name. That way, I wouldn’t have “my moment.” I know most girls can’t wait for this moment, but I just wanted to get it over with.  I then heard “Samira Haikal” and immediately walked up to the certificate giver.  I decided I’ve never trembled so much in my life. When I grabbed my certificate, I turned my body and posed a fake smile to the photographer. Only then, was when I noticed I had the whole mid-gym walkway to myself. At that point, it seemed like a thousand miles back to my seat. I just walked, not wanting to slow the person behind me. I attempted to catwalk half the way to ease off the pressure, but I failed. It didn’t make me feel better., but I successfully made it back to my seat 

promises meant to be broken.

Disclaimer: By posting this blog I know I am putting this experience on blast, but I'd hope that whoever reads this will honor my request for privacy and discretion concerning this topic. With all due respect, I simply ask that whoever reads this handles the following information with utmost delicacy and secrecy, as it's regarded in a serious manner in my life. But seriously, please don't ever bring this stuff up to anyone else.

"Don't do it in the car. We have kids in the back. Or at least your sister--"

"I don't care. It's my car."

A pack of Camels. Half an hour ago, my mind couldn't come to terms with reality when I found out they were there and who they belonged to. My friend was swinging around a Coach wristlet as if it was a plaything around the mall. Before it smacked me in the face, I grabbed the seemingly-stuffed leather pouch and curiously sliced the zipper open. I didn't think the wristlet's contents would have been such a big deal, but there it was...

Disgust was the immediate forefront emotion in my mind while the memory of a once-honored promise faded into a venom diffusing through my veins; the previous year, my sister and I made a pact together never to start smoking. I did it in honor of our dad, in consideration of how it would utterly destroy him if he lost his daughters to nicotine... Just as he had lost his own father.

Cigarettes. They killed my grandfather. They took his life, they broke my father's heart, and back at the present moment, they had begun to break mine too.

I stood in utter disappointment at the evidence of a broken promise laying right in my hands. There was only one message sprawled across my face: a look that only portrayed the pain of betrayal. My eyes took a double, triple, and quadruple take at the box, scanning left to right and then back left. To my unpleasant surprise, I didn't read the label wrong. I wasn't mistaken... but I was let down.

Nonchalantly sitting in the little pouch was a half-empty box of stoges and a lighter.

Cigarettes. My sister's cigarettes.

As my consciousness returned to the present moment's dialogue in the front seats, my head snapped forward. The black-on-black interior messed up my vision, and I was blinded past the passenger headrest that seemed to blend in with the night.

But, as if on cue, a small, fiery orange circle stood out against the dark canvas before my eyes. My pupils caught this and began to focus as I slowly peered forward. All of a sudden, although expected, I was shoved back by the atrocious trail of smoke that slammed into my respiratory system. My breath instinctively held itself, my eyes glared straight forward as my sister held a lit stoge out the window, and the venom in my veins from half an hour ago floated into my head, consuming me into a state of silent disappointment and... Distrust.

I get that it is my sister's car and she can do whatever she wants in it. I get that my sister is eighteen and she can do whatever she wants because of that. I understand, and I can't do anything about her choices.

But sometimes the ties you hold with your family -- the promises you make with your own flesh and blood -- bind you to a little more that isn't subject to human age or law. The way she went back on the promise we made to each other and for my father's sake just... hurt.

Cigarettes. They left my grandfather lifeless, left my dad fatherless... and now, here I am, left faithless in what I thought could have been an act of kindness honored... in what could have been a promise well-kept.

On Campus, Vampires Are Besting the Beats

Through the increasing amount of more modernized and less education writings, the literature deemed with merit in today's world highly differs than what books were honored decades ago. The "advancement" that comes over time isn't exactly favorable in this respect, however; while classics from the Beat generation get right down to the core of '50s risqué and fervent societal revolutions as interesting -- if not more -- than the present-day books that're fabricated on more youthful and less thought-out principles, the latter still tends to be the more popular type of the two.

Through the article "On Campus, Vampires are besting the beats", the author assesses the book choices of college students. By means of statistics and comparisons between the Beat generation forty years ago and today's society, the writer explains that the choices of literature have degraded in the amount of essential literary merit present, which is something that college students must learn to appreciate in books. "Serious literature" is shunned as students vouch for pieces that are more "entertaining", modernized, and that don't require as much brain power or analysis to understand. By citing credible sources that contribute to ethos, the writer draws the conclusions that students' choices in literature are affected by rising technological advancement; the availability of information easily accessed by media via the social networks, the Internet, and television denies the need for reflecting socio-economic news and standings through literature.

Embarassing moment

Ever since i was little, i loved going to the snow. I remember how much i loved to go sledding, snowboarding and have snow fights. I remember that cold crisp weather and the sight of white snow outside our cabin. My family and I would travel to Utah often for the winter just to be out of the house and enjoy a place where it is different.
This particular event was when not only when my family was around but we had family friends with us as well. We went to a snow resort thing in Salt Lake Utah and we had a blast. It was my turn to snowboard, and started out pretty smooth, till i realized i was going too fast. I tried to stop and turn my board. One of my friends was trying to let me know how to stop. I was looking back when all of a sudden i hit a tree. The moment it happened it hurt and was embarrassing! I managed to hold on and get myself together. He came to me and asked if i was okay. Not only did my friend have to see what happened but my dad as well recorded it on camera. To this day, my family loves to watch our family trip videos and make sure to see the part where i hit a tree. Not only does it remind me of how much it hurt, but reminds me of how embarrassing that event was.

Free Education

As one of many students in the United States that recive free education, I know that there are hundreds if not thousands of kids, like me, who aren't taking advantage of the extremly valueble reasources and opportunites were given. For some kids, its because there oblivious to what's out there, for some kids, it's that they think they can't, and , for the rest we just have no motivation.

There are plenty of reasons to go to school. The most obvious is that to be able to get a job and survive in the real world everyone needs a good education. If not just for yourself then for all the people who spend valuable time and money on you, when they could be spending the money on more important things like kids in Uganda. I mean we are going to school for FREE and we're NOT EVEN TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IT!

We might do chores and favors for our parents, but it's nothing compared to what they're doing for you, giving you a opportunity to take care of yourself or rather an easier life when you're older. With all the incentives people still seem to not have a reason to excel in academics. How is it that we can insist on doing nothing while so many others are there helping you, pushing you. If anything people like that should be the ones in Uganda. There are people not able to break from poverty because they dont have the opportunity to. Thoes are the people that should be where I am. Still, how can we be this unmotivated?

Halloween.

Halloween wasn't exciting as it used to be. Even though this year nothing really happened, it was fu. All I did this year was go to my friends house for his little sisters halloween party. She was dressed up as Hello Kitty, one of her friends was dressed as Lady Gaga. Which looked very unatural and just flat out weird. I wasn't dressed up and neither were my friends, it seemed to be more of a kick back type of thing than a "party." So it wasn't as different as any other specific day that we usually hang out. Usually when we hang out we have little talks, eat(except this time it wasn't fast food) and eventually dance off what we ate for a good hour or so. The party had some of the best food I've eaten in a while, from American food to Filipino food, simply delicious. There was only one problem, the chocolate fountain wasn't working. Well, it was working, but the chocolate wouldn't come out of the top like we wanted it to. I asked my auntie if I could try to fix it, so I gave it a shot. I tried everything, from reassembling it, to remaking the chocolate. Ending in a major fail. It turned out from the beginning that I was using the wrong oil. I felt stupid, but at least I gave it a shot. Time seemed to pass by so quickly, trick or treaters started coming and going. Some kids were dressed up, going all out. Even some teenagers, I remember one of the older girls being dressed up as Princess Peach, she had the hair all the way to the gloves and the dress. She wasn't asian either. Well, it's Halloween right? We decided that we would doing something fun and try to scare little kids. My friend Brian had a Obama mask, which intentionally put on. Everyone told me I was creepy, like it seemed to be real. What I did, is that I would talk like a gangster and run up to like mid teen looking kids and scare the crap out of them. I know it's mean, but it was honestly really fun. After scaring the kids, we decided we should play hide and seek in the dark. Unfortuneately we had a odd number of people, and one of my friends not going to name them (AK) messed everything up because he's a little cry baby who doesn't like anyone. So we ended up not playing, and everyone just leaving to go home or go to a party. Well for me, I roamed the neighborhood checking for house parties, they all basically got shot down by the police. So I had no intention of going and getting in trouble since it was already late. Plus, since nothing was going around, I just went home. Counted my candy and slept, thus ending my Halloween.

-Eljae *feels like a laundry list.*

My Grandmother

Around two months ago my grandmother passed away. She, at least in my eyes, was the greatest grandmother in the world, and I miss her greatly now. Her decline started at last christmas. We always go to her house, then my other grandparents the next day, and the day in question was her turn. She was normal for the most part, but we started to notice some strange things after dinner. She was slow to respond, and her speech was slightly slurred.
Before this point we she had probably been the healthiest out of my grandparents, and had no health issues to speak of. My grandfather on that side has Stage 4 cancer, and was expected to live six months, the deadline was more than eighteen months ago. We brought my grandmother to the hospital two days later, the day after christmas. They scanned her body, and found that she had a tumor in her brain. We were shocked, especially my mother. They decided to operate on it.
After the operation my grandmother was never the same, she became childish, but she was still my grandmother and tried to still do the same things. When she couldn't because of what her body was turning into she often cried a lot. I only know this because my mom told us what was going on. She basically lived at her house during the decline. I only got to see my grandmother on her good days when she thought it was ok for me to visit.
She continued to decline until she slipped into a strange comma like state. She couldn't move or even think. All she did was moan and lay there with her eyes closed. She didn't recongnize any of us. For the two weeks she was like this I don't think I ever saw my mother not crying. Then the doctors decided to put in this pump think that got the excess fluid out of her skull, which was what was causing the state. After that she started to recognize us again, but the dimentia was even worse she died a few weeks later.

Halloween

It was the best night ever. For somebody who didn't have a real, scary costume, I pulled it off well. My plan to dominate over the little, energetic imps...and to beat them to the candy was a success.

My family, their friends, and I strolled to Denise's house Halloween afternoon. We chatted and ate until it was time for the big kids to go out and trick-or-treat. I raced with Denise's sister Danielle to our friend's house to pick up Kat and Bianca. After rounding up the rest of the gang, we marched towards the Wicklund village. We got sidetracked though, for the eerie glow of blue, green lighted porches attracted us like flies. We would doorbell and screech "trick or treat!" and scamper away with a quick "thank you" after the adult dropped candy in our bags. However, Denise stayed behind to wait for her other friends and wanted us to wait for her at the Wicklund school, so we stayed when we got there. The kids were getting antsy in our pack so I let them grab more candy while some of us stayed. I started to become impatient and herded what was left of us towards the newest meetup destination that was arranged after Denise called to say she was lost. Needless to say, I was flabbergasted from the thought of being lost in your own neighborhood but I didn't let that ruin my night. After we met up, Kat, Danielle, Bianca, and I rushed towards the houses to get the last bit of candy from the remaining houses. Our laughter echoed down the empty streets. I had a blast skipping down the streets with my friends and having our bags to be filled. We took a pitstop back over at Bianca's house. We were welcomed by the loud atmosphere from her family and warm food. I began to scarf down my foood while the others relax. We said our goodbyes and Danielle and I began our cold journey back to her place to join the other kids.

scary moment

Fear is a perception that everybody goes through. Fear is a separate identity all on its own that serves to consume the minds of others. Fear can not be expunged, and everyone experiences it. I experienced this fear a significant amount of times. However, there was one experience that stands out bolder than all the others.

One day, i was sitting on the couch watching tv. It was a normal sunday afternoon. The birds were singing a sweet melody. The weather was great. However the song soon died down..

My parents were away so I was all alone in the house. ( I could have snuck out with the car, but I was scared.) So I decided to invite some friends over. As I was about to call my friend, I saw my neighbor outside. I put my hand up to wave, when I realized it wasn't really my neighbor. Right then, I realized that he was a stranger, a stranger that was trying to break into my neighbors house.... and he was staring right at me.

I panicked. There was a small dilemma I was in. If I called the police, then the robber would know I did it. However, I cant just let him break into my neighbors house. Finally I decided to call the police. Luckily, the police arrived in time to catch the atrocious man. Atrocious? Maybe thats too harsh. More like a pure man condemned with atrocious qualities. Maybe thats where our fear comes from. Atrocious qualities.

Proud Moment

It was hot an there was an intense aura in the room which also added to the humidity in the steamy room. I was with my friends Paolo, Kevin and Steve and we were playing Halo 2. It was during the summer, so all of us were drenched in our sweat. One by one each one of them were screaming, "Ahhhhhhhhh" as I slaughtered them in the game. I was on a roll as I killed off each of their characters. Finally, I achieved the medal "killing spree". It was my first time and I was excited because it was the first time I ever got the award. I am not the best at the game amongst us, so I felt proud of this milestone. However, in the end, I lost as usual. Becuase this game is Paolo's, he is the best out of us and he ended up willing as always, but I was still happy. I did not care whether I lost or not becuase of my own self-accomplishment. I will forever remember that day for the rest of my life, or until I get another killing spree.

www.inquisitir.com

Paticence Brings Great Things

"When is it coming?", I asked my father. "Don't worry you'll know when it's here," he replied. "Well obviously I will know, but I'd still like to know how much longer it's going to take," I said growing irritated. "Your Uncle said two weeks at the most," answered my father. So i strolled out of the room and plopped myself onto the couch and turned up the tv. The days went by, same routine over and over for the next two weeks. After the continuous boredom, I needed something new- and that new thing I needed had still not come. Thinkg I was never going to get it, I strolled into the livingroom and approched my father. Lingered behind him until he swirled his chair around, then I attacked him with questions and accustions. My father wearliy said, "Not my fault. I did'nt know how long it was going to take." I grumbled my way back to my room, shut the door, and mumbled to myself, "Don't want to get blamed? Don't promise anything to a teen."

My paticence was done holding out, itwas irratating; waiting and waiting and waiting. Another week was almost over, it was finally Saturday; and someone was acctually coming over- thank goodness some kind of change rather than the constant boredom and waiting. So as the car pulled into the driveway I got up to open the door to let my cousins in. It was then that I saw my uncle holding a huge box- I smashed the door wide open and ran out barefoot. About ready to smack right into the box i skidded to a stop, and looked into the box. There it was- the precious little thing. So tiny and beautiful with it black and whte pattern. Ireached into the box and picked it up lightly and held it close to my face. "Hi baby! Aren't you such a cute little thing! Yes you are!", I crooned. Finally after the whole summer almost being gone, and the torturous waiting week after week, I had finally gotten my little pup.

Embarrasing, much?

A cool breeze flew by my face as my 6th grade P.E. class and I made our way over to the hard, concrete floor for our morning workout. The morning sky appeared with sunlight blazing through the fluffy white clouds and the grass was still moist from the morning dew. There I stood with the rest of my class as I was being poked by an annoying classmate named Robby. Robby was quite the joker, always being a menace and acting out to make others laugh.
I remember that morning, Robby was tapping my shoulder and as I turned my head he would hide and do it that repeatedly. To me it became less and less funny as he repeated this game of tap hide and seek. For I knew it was him the whole time. Each time he poked me it just got me even more irritated then the last that I decided to chase him to make him stop. As I followed behind him, my pace increasing with his and my feet scrambling on the floor, he led me to the morning wet grass. Suddenly in one particular area of the grass, I found myself gliding, losing balance, then flying in mid air, falling on my side in a big mud puddle, which to me was not visible to notice. I slid and landed like a baseball player fighting to reach home base.
I felt the moist mud seep through my blue jeans and as I stood up, one whole side of my jeans was covered in mud. There I stood in the midst of all my classmates, embarrassed, as faces stared at me with shock and giggles. A rush of heat rushed within my body and I felt I had to slowly lower my head down. It was the most embarrassing and unforgettable moment I have ever faced. I walked myself to the school office red faced and embarrassed.

Halloween

It started getting dark and all the kids in their cute and scary costumes going to every house getting candy and that day was the funnest day for halloween. I started putting my contacts on my eyes, white makeup on my face that looks like i'm a geisha for halloween but i wasn't and black eyeshadow around my eyes that made me look like a raper but all together I looked like a zombie. My friend and I started going out the door with our empty bags of candy. When we were going door to door getting our bags full of candy and finished around 7:30 we went to my house to drop our bags of the bag of delicious candy. My friend and I were matching and decided to go scare people and so we did. The both of us walked all over the town and stopped at every dark area we see and once people walks by us we put down our phones and put scary music and scream at them. Many people run but what we did, the both of us started walking towards the kids and stare at them until they start walking back.

I started walking to a group of little girls that look like there in the seventh grade, i followed them around and started chasing them but one girl started crying and started to run away from me but she had running the wrong way, that girl was running towards my friend. That girl was really freaked out but the sound of her voice and the way she dressed up i figured it was my cousin. All i've been doing was scaring my cousin and a group of other people but the thing that really scared them was my face starting and my white rave contacts starting to glow in the dark.
That day was fun scaring people and getting candy but thats all i did

Different Halloween

Okay, so I am a Junior in high school, and going "trick-or-treating" isn't really on the top of my 'fun' list; but this year was different. I did my usual party going on Saturday with my cousins, but Sunday I found myself bored and no longer wanting to pass out candy to the younger kids. I called a couple of friends and had them meet at my house with a costume. I personally did not go out and but one this year, but i figured i could pull something together from the things in my house. Everyone gave ideas. First there was the nerd; but something was missing. Then, there was the Zombie cheerleader, but my uniform is uncomfortable. My brother suggested for me to be "a really preppy-hyper chick", i thought he was trying to mock me, since I am a little preppy and hyper at times, but I said "nah, ima thug." Which gave me a brilliant idea. I ran in his room and grabbed a pair of his khaki shorts. I threw on a white beater and reached in the back of my closet for my plaid shirts, I decided on a red and blue one that buttoned all the way up; I only buttoned the top one though. I put on a pair of white Christmas socks and grabbed my chucks- or as some say "converse". my hair was curly, not yet straightened and I didn't have time to stand in the mirror for hours and fight against my curls, so i put a hair tie around my curls and teased my pony and made it fluffy. I let my bangs hang, which i did straighten! I had my brother find his red and blue beanie and that finished my look. we went "trick-or-treating" and I walked the streets with one hand throwing up the peace sign and the other the "A" for ..Atlanta; occasionally changing my peace to the "west coast 'w'." when ever some one asked who I was.. I simply said, "Thug Nasty" and giggled til' it hurt. It made all the adults and teenagers laugh hysterically. This year was different, and I enjoyed it

How I Met Brandi

Everyone has stories of how they met and why they became friends. Mine and Brandi's story is wildly different. Brandi and I went to seperate high schools, I went to Tracy and she went to West. We were also on the rival schools cheer teams. But as freshmen the schools has combined to make one gymnastics team. And for some odd reason Brandi and I were both pulled up to the Varsity team even though we did not have much skill. And we did not know eachother, there were many more Tracy girls than West girls on varsity so Brandi didnt know very many people. So as a joke I started following her everywhere she went during practice. From vault, to bars, to beam, to floor i was always less than a few feet behind her. Everyone else on our team knew about it except for Brandi and it became the team joke and this went on for about three weeks. Then one day at school my friend Jill, who was also on Brandi's cheer team told Brandi I had been following her and told the hole story. Then that night at practice she turned around and saw me and I didn't try to hide. She thought I was a freak and I didn't care. It was the start of our Best Friend connection. After that one akward day where she realized I was her stalker we started doing everything together at practice and had a lot of fun. As the weeks went by I made the decision that I wanted to go to Kimball, and i convinced Brandi, against her will, to go with me. And every since she agreed we have been insperable and pretty much living together.

Embarrassing Moment

Philippines are a country where the weather conditions are very unpredictable. There are times when it is humid, then suddenly changes to rainfall. Sunny days are my favorite climate when I was in the Philippines. When it is sunny days, I often go play and spend time with my friends, but when it is rainy days, all I could do is stay inside our house which is tedious. During rainy days, it is very muddy, wet and slippery. Rainy days are a season where unexpected things could happen without realizing it. It was a lovely day when my most embarrassing moment happened.
One day, I was all happy when I woke up in the morning because everything seems so perfect. My school uniform such as a blouse, skirt and shoes were all prepared to get me all set for school. I always wake up at 5:30 a.m. to eat breakfast and take a shower and because school starts at precisely 7:00 a.m. The night before school, I heard news from the television that the weather is going to be good. However, the news was a mistake and right before the time that I was about to get out of the house and go to school, it suddenly rained and I was stunned.
After that, I ended up bringing an umbrella to school, so I would not get sick and wet, but I did not get to wear my shoes. I did not have a choice, so I wore slippers when I went to school. I hated wearing slippers because my feet were getting wet from the rain.
When I got to school, I was rushing inside the school campus because I was running late. When I was walking by, the floor was very wet, so I started to slow down walking to go to class. Even though I was being careful, surprisingly, I slipped on the floor. Everyone gazed at me, some people sniggered and some people asked if I was passable. Needless to say, I said I was all right, so it would not be too embarrassing. However, it was the moments were I really wanted to cry, but I did not, because I realized that it could be more embarrassing if I cried in front of them. I decided to go home and get change after the incident, because my blouse and skirt got extremely dirty. I did not come back to school when I went home because I was very embarrassed to face my classmates and the people who saw me in the incident. I stayed in my room the whole day trying to forget about it. It was very horrid and from then on, I started to hate the rain.
As time goes by, it does not really matter to me anymore about what happened before, because past is past. I realized that there will be those times that I would really get into embarrassing or awkward moments. Furthermore, thinking about it now, just makes me laugh and every time it rains, it reminds me of my past memories in the Philippines.

Sad Memory: The Life You Once Knew

     The lowering sun slowly sank to rest upon the lake's surface; its reflection glistened upon the endless stretch of water. Colors splashed across the horizon, melting and blending together as the canvas of the sky became a blackened page. Shattered clouds hovered overhead, miraculously resting upon some unknown line that separated the horizon with Lake Erie's surface. The sun was setting on a stage of my life; I was sad to see it go.

The blazing fire emitted from the sun became soft, glowing embers as the sun continued its descent. Waves below me hurled their entire bodies towards the dock, curling and tumbling over one another.

The faint cry of a seagull sliced through the air, growing louder and louder in a deep crescendo as it reverberated off the murky water's surface. The sweet fragrance of seaweed enveloped me.

My cheek was caressed by the the breeze, and my head was filled with secrets; secrets of what lay beyond the horizon. Secrets of sweet summer romances. On my tongue, I tasted all the flavors of summer: the fresh peach pie, the smooth and creamy ice cream, and the flavors of a scarlet and violet night sky. Flavors of a memorable sunset, signaling the end of a day. Signaling the end of something amazing. Signaling a bitter-sweet farewell to something you hold so dear.

My home. I closed my eyes and saw the place where I had learned to walk; the place where sweet, crunchy corn on the cob was always plentiful. I saw the halls, the windows, and the open and welcoming doorway of my summer home. I heard the creaking of the stairs my grandfather built by hand; I heard the roaring of a fast-moving thunderstorm, with rain splashing off the old shingles that covered the lake house. My ears rang with the familiar slam of the screen door, which always signalled the arrival or departure of someone you love.

My real home. Behind lowered eyelids, I saw the tree I had planted and nurtured when I was three years old. Next to it, I saw a for sale sign.

When would I be back? As the sun drifted off into the unknown, I knew that I would soon leave this haven behind. I would sink with life's disappointments; I would rise again each and every new day. I squinted as I turned to fully face the disappearing sun. I wiped the tears from my eyes, realizing how sad it truly is to leave behind something you love; to watch the sun set on a life you once knew.

Halloween Night

The excitement to go trick-or-treating for toddlers is completely different than the excitement that teenagers have. What do teenagers think about when it is Halloween? I know that the only think that is on my mind is CANDY. However, toddlers, like my three and half year old brother, is excited to wear his costume and go trick-or-treating just for the fun of it.

"Let's go trick-or-treating!" That is the only thing on little kids' mind on Haloween nights. My brother, being no different from any of the other kids, complained the whole day to go. Since he is three and half years old, he is still trying to understand that trick-or-treating is something that happens at night. When the first group of people came at our house for candy, my brother started to cry that he wants to go too. The main thing on his mind was that why did I pass out candy to the people. He didn't know that along with going out at night for treats, you have to give treats to people that come over too.

After ten minutes of wasting his energy on crying, my brother finally was smart enough to put on his costume and ready to go. Slow in understanding the simple concept of trick-or-treating, he just stood outside the doors for candy. Being his older sister, I had to make sure he knows what to do. I had to ring the door bells for him and say Trick-or-Treat out loud.

The whole time we were out trick-or-treating, I discovered that my brother didn't even care what kind and how much candy he got from the people. All he cared to look around for was other kids in their costumes. He was so intrigued by other toddlers' costumes that he would just stand there and look at them. The next thing he would do was ask me to promise him if he could get that costume for next Halloween. The next Halloween, when hopefully he will understand the importance of CANDY more than the costumes.

Side Tracked

Life isn't too easy nowadays; being a daughter, dedicating time to family, maintaining grades, and also not neglecting my friends. Junior year has come along and was going to be one of the most important and hardest throughout high school. While I juggle school and friends all in one year, I seemed to forget the one person who has been an important part of my life. After ten years of friendship, I had a gut feeling something was bound to happen, whether it is good or bad. Soon enough did I realize that not only communication was lost between the two of us, but the thought of losing my best friend did not cross my mind. I would glance, stare or even hold my phone debating whether or not a simple "hello" or "how are you?" would make a difference in this situation. I close my eyes, my heartbeat was slow, and my fingers apply pressure to the small green button on my phone. I take long deep breaths as I wait. Soon enough, her voice mail comes through the phone; I click "end call" and continue with my homework. The thoughts that filled my head did not consist of worry about friendship, but rather the worrying of not being able to finish homework. The simple 30 seconds with a cellphone pressed against my ear awaiting a voice to brighten up my mood didn't make a difference in my day. Not a feeling of being let down filled my body.

Two days passed, a week passed, and eventually an entire month passed; my stomach dropped and the feeling I should have had months before finally hit me. I came to senses that our friendship was going down the drain. I was lost. I was confused. I didn't know what to do or how to handle this dilemma that has never occurred with this person before. My friends, family, and even teachers have told me before "the situations you face with friendships are a test; it will either make it, or break it". Despair clogs my thoughts from being positive. Nothing else is left to do except accepting reality.

Scariest Moment

One of the scariest moments in my life was when I was about to get into a car accident. That day I realized that driving needs to be taken seriously. At the time I had my permit for 6 months and was days away for taking my driving test. My mom lets me basically drive her everywhere. When it comes to driving I feel like I am a pretty safe driver but that day was the first time I made a bad decision while driving.

On a Saturday evening I was driving to the mall with my mom and I come to a stop sign so I stop. Then I look both ways and see a car coming and I wait for it to go my mom tells me I could have made it but I stopped just to be on the safe side. Seconds after the car passes an SUV pulls up to the stop sign next to me and blocks my right side view and I kind of forget to check again so I just cross the stop sign and all of a sudden I here my mom scream I look to the right and see a car ready to T-bone me. My mom is still screaming the other driver slams on the brakes and I slam my foot on the gas pedal to get out of the intersection. I was surprised that I was smart enough to hit the gas pedal instead of the brakes because usually people stop when something wrong happens.

At this point I was shocked and shaking and the other driver was honking his horn and following me so I park my car and the guy says why did you do that I answered I am sorry but I didn't mean to do it on purpose and he takes off. I was really scared and realized that driving is a responsibility you need to take seriously.

Proud Moment

Being not that fond of the trumpet, once the opportunity to play tuba arose in my 5th grade band class, I was ecstatic. Finally there was a chance for me to break away from the trumpets and be unique member of the band. However, in order to gain the prestigious honor, I needed to pass a rigorous try-out to show off my instrumental skills.

Our music teacher, Mrs. McLaughlin, said that in order to play the instrument we need to play a piece composed by none other than herself. As I glanced at the sheet of music, I was shocked at the twists and turns displayed by the notes. The high notes seemed like a trek up a mountain, and the low notes were the perilous descent. I knew that my musical skills weren't of this caliber and quickly felt disheartened at never being able to earn the tuba chair.

As the week went on, and my music teacher called students up to audition, my turn finally came up. Still willing to try-out, I made my way into my music teacher's office and got out my instrument. As I saw that dreaded sheet of music once again, I got nervous. I just wanted to get it over with. Paying no attention to rhythm nor the beat, I completed each measure of the composition as quickly as possible. Every note it seemed had an imperfection. It was over. Leaving the office of my music teacher, I fully understood that I would never be able to play the instrument I so desired.

The rest of the week went by smoothly enough. I tried to keep my mind off the blunder I made during the audition. By the next band class, my music teacher had made her decision. At this point, I was fully convinced that I was stuck as trumpet. So, imagine my face as my name was called up for achieving the tuba chair. In that instant, I didn't want to question how I managed to earn my unique spot in the band, but I came to find out that I was the only kid big enough to hold the instrument. I guess those early growth spurts were helpful after all.

(Photo taken at age 13)

When I was in the seventh grade, my home life was bad, but she was the one who helped me through it all. She was the person I went to when I needed a shoulder to cry on. She was the one who could always make me smile and laugh when I was feeling down. She was the one that took me in when I needed a place to stay. She was the sister I always wanted, but never had. Her name is Danielle Jane Asiain and she is my best friend.

I don't know what I would have ever done without her. After my mom divorced my step-dad(I never liked him anyways), we didn't have a place to stay, a place to call home. My family was forced to split up. Danielle and her mother took me in and gave me a place I could call my home. Even through all the issues my family was going through at the time, Danielle seemed to be able to make those months that I lived with her some of the most amazing moths of my life. It was like a slumber party that never ended!

I can honestly say that this girl right here saved me from depression. If she hadn't convinced her mother to take me in and give me a home, I don't know what state I would be in right now. She was not alone in helping me get through it all, but she was definitely the most prominent figure helping me, supporting me, and caring for me. I am so thankful for everything she has done for me.

To this day, she is always there when I need her, even though she lives miles away. And of course, I am there for her. After everything she has done for me, I can't imagine living life without my best friend.

Sample Documents REHUGO

This is a test, but if it works, this will have the two sample documents for REHUGO that we went over in class. Let me know if this works.

Mr. Soeth

http://bit.ly/av4rf8 and http://bit.ly/9IiMCm

Use these links as a reference, let me know if you have questions.

Epiphany

 A few nights ago it was Halloween and I thought I'd be excited. Just finally hanging out with friends and dressing up in anything we had or bought. It was awesome for a group of ten, even though some of them didn't dress up at all. When it was time to go out those jitters of excitement that I usually felt when I was a child were absent. Confusion struck at me with a hammer, askimg me, "wha'ts going on?" How could I answer?

 As we made it past a few houses I knew I had to cheer myself up after being unable to comprehend the situation, so  I started to raise my voice while cracking stupid jokes and singing out of key. I even grabbed a friend to be my 'partner in crime' as we took the streets. Even though I felt on top of the world the thought of that nonexistent joy still irked me in a way that I began to feel like a fool. "Why?" I began to wonder. "Why? Why? Why?" As to what 'why' pretained to, I began to forget  but I knew I needed to use some sort of repetition to distract myself as the night continued.

 Our time together was nearing it's closing and I was alone with my three best friends or "The Originals" as we called ourselves. When my friend brought up the subject of next year's Halloween an awkwardness hit me and I began to think of negative outcomes of that future night.  So I suggested to just have a party and we began to discuss. And throughout that discussion I realized why I felt the way I felt. I finally grew up. Even thought I hate to admit this maturity there was no doubt in my mind that the child I grew up to be turned into a yound adult.

My hands trembled as I took my escorts hand. I waited impatiently, tapping my foot until they introduced me. Silently humming to myself I cast a nervous smile at Ms. Munoz. It seemed like an eternity for them to call my name. I scanned the audience for the assuring smiles of my best friends, Michelle's was the first was one that locked eyes with me. Giving me the look that whatever happens, I shouldn't let it bring me down.

Suddenly, I heard the booming voice call, "Jeserey Sanchez". Knees trembling I started the long walk to the center of the field. At the midst of the roaring applause I heard the yells and cheering from everyone in the crowd. Fearing of falling flat on my face, I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and focused on the smiling faces of the other candidates. Finally reaching the semi- circle of the nominated princesses, we waited as they announced the results.

As, they called the winners of the freshman and sophomore princesses, the moment I've been waiting for has finally come. At that moment was when I realized how badly I had wanted to win. Early that last week when they informed me that I was nominated as one of the "Up & Coming" princesses, I just to brushed it off. Giving myself the mentality, "How hard could it be?". Hadn't realized Homecoming week was the next week. Long nights, early mornings, it was the beginning of a very stressful week. It started with the talent show. Learned a new song by night, memorized and got it down the following day. Fingers crossed it would just all fall into place once I was on stage. Like they say there's a first time for everything, and being spirited for everyday of the week, it was the first.

......
All that was rushing through my head at that very moment, hoping that all the stress and effort I had put into the whole week was going to pay off at that night. Still clutched onto Ms. Munoz's arm, anxiously waited as Gabby slowly announced 2010's Homecoming Queen.

"And Your Homecoming Queen is .. Jeserey Sanchez" And suddenly I felt as if a big weight was lifted off my shoulders. It was the last thing I would've expected to happen to me my Junior year. And is surely a memory I will always cherish.

Frustration

School, homework, projects, tests, quiz's, school work, notes, lectures, etc. Many people would fine these topics pretty annoying and/or boring, possibly stressful. For me, I can say that it is somewhat stressful. Why? because all these topics keep continuing to pile on, and on, and on. And given that I'm not not so good with managing my time, things for me can get pretty unbearable.

Then again being a junior is not quite what i should be worried about. There are more tougher and unbearable things in this world. however, since I'm not really informed of them or even really aware so much about them nowadays, I can't really get an opinion on them. In my case these tiny little stressful situations aren't good for me nor for my health. Because then it causes something else more horrible and visible to come about. It's irritating and for me it really gets me depressed.

However, there are some upsides in all of these complications. I have all of these assignments from school, it helps my knowledge, though my appearance is not so well, my knowledge is growing and more so all in all I'm still stressed to a point where I wish I could fall and go into a permanent sleep. But, that cant happen now can it, because then what knowledge will I have to help me later on in life, tell me?

My body slowly relaxed as I sank into bed. Muscle by muscle, nerve by nerve, the tension of a long day slipped away as I drifted towards my dream land. My mind was sleepily reviewing the movie I had just watched, Paranormal Activity. I was disappointed with it; my older sister had told me it was the scariest movie she had ever seen. To me, it was extremely stupid.

I was in the state when you're between sleep and being awake. Where I dreamt, yet was aware of my surroundings. Suddenly, out of no where, there was a sudden, resonating thud! I frantically tried to sit up, but I had been cocooned in my blankets, so it took me a while to find my way out. By the time I escaped my dark prison, all was quiet. I figured it was just mart of my dream, so I cautiously layed back down. I then closed my eyes, not for five seconds when more noises came from mydoor. I tried to see, squinting through the darkness. A sudden panic washed through my body. I was going blind! Everything was so blurry! Then it hit me like a wall of bricks...I wasn't wearing my glasses.

I scrambled down my bed to my windowsill, where I had left them. Hands shaking slightly, I slide them on. I reached to look at the time on my cell. Just as it turned 2:01 am, the handle on my door should violently. Then more thuds against the door.

THUD! THUD! BANG!

It sounded as if Bruce Willis was trying to break down my door. The handle kept on jiggling as if someone were trying to get in. I thought to myself, "This is the end! There's a demon out there trying to get me! Just like in the movie!".

At that moment, I understood why the victims in horror movies open the door at the wrong moments. It is because, well for me, that they are curious. For at this point a loud and heavy silence laced the air.

Slowly I slid out of my bed, grabbing a teddy bear for moral support. the handle shakes slightly as I grab it with trembling hands. I fling the door wide open! My breath comes out in a gush. Nothings there. Then out of the silence i hear a "Meow". I looked down, and see my cat, staring up at me.