ARROW&[RON JAYVEE DE LEON & ELI DE LOS SANTOS]

Notes Apologies&

NOTES:This gift is for you.We’re not sure what it is. It has a lot of photography, hand-drawn art and creative

writing in it, so it’s kind of a literary magazine. But it’s also a special edition of ARROW, the newspaper you read each month. Only ARROW isn’t really a newspaper. It’s a newsmagazine.

Anyway.Enjoy the gift. We worked hard to make it for you.

APOLOGIES:I’m sorry you never got to see all the colors of the rainbow.I’m sorry if the rain washed away your sidewalk art.I’m sorry that gossip consumed you last night.I’m sorry you think singing along to the radio is chessy.I’m sorry if you never saw Disney movies when you were a kid.

NOTES:Most of the pieces here were composed by students at Renton High School, compiled

and collected during first semester, 2009-2010. Some of the pieces here are included in their entirety, and some of the pieces are excerpted.

We hope you enjoy the diversity of responses.

APOLOGIES:I’m sorry that when the teacher talks, your mind walks away and your head hits the desk.I’m sorry that books are more fancinating to me than the latest reality T.V. show.I’m sorry that the Shamrock Shake is only at McDonald’s for a short time.I’m sorry that Conan O’Brien no longer hosts the Tonight Show.I’m sorry we don’t act as cheerleaders when you need us the most.I’m sorry if the furthest you have ever been from home is the mall.I’m sorry if after seeing all of this small print, you never bother to read it.

NOTES:This once-in-this-moment issue of Arrow is printed by Pacific Publishing Company in

Seattle, Washington. Word processing, graphics and layouts are created on Microsoft Office 2007 and Adobe Creative Suite 3 programs.

ARROW has a publication of 2000 papers/copies, etc.Over the course of 4 days, a group of five darling newbies, for whom this represents their

first steps into the world of high school journalism, produced this package of papers in your hand. Before this, the only commonality between them was that they all attended Renton High School, located at 400 S. 2nd St., Renton, WA, 98057.

APOLOGIES:I’m sorry if marshmallows are not your thing.I’m sorry your wallet contains broken promises and half spoken truths.I’m sorry your boyfriend didn’t ever text you back, except to say oic.I’m sorry if an external compass is stronger than your moral one.I’m sorry we never got to layout in the sun together.I’m sorry we never got to use that snow day.

NOTES:We love the night custodians. They’re great. Over the past couple of days we’ve produced

an impressive pile of trash in the journalism room. We try to clean up after ourselves, but it’s nice that they’re around, walking the halls and smiling when it’s dark outside.

NOT AN APOLOGY. KIND OF:We loved this thought by Meykia Smith and couldn’t find just the right spot for it in the

publication, so we want to share it with you here. Ready?“You know, Mr./Mrs. Reader, you are probably asking yourself a series of questions, one

being “Why is she asking me if I am asking her questions?,” two being “Why do you even care about others’ emotions?”

The We-Made-This... ...Our Own Creative Titles

ANN BUCHER....................................................................................................................FLUFFY PILLOW HOARDERELI DE LOS SANTOS.............................................................................................FLIRTACIOUS DIMPLE OWNERRON JAYVEE DE LEON....................................................................................................................PEACE ADVOCATE

SHANAY ECHOLS....................................................................................................................FRIENZIED FASHION FANATICKAYLA GRADY...................................................................................................................................................TEASING BANTERERMR. SMITH..................................................................................................................................RETIRED MARATHON RUNNER

ARROW 23403 31 10

The sleek, silver and off white hourglass design. / If the Xbox 360 were a woman, it would be one of those captivating hotties with brains to match. [CLIFFORD ANDERSON]

Chest bumping, heart rushing / Hitting the beat out to the crowd / Boom / The room got loud and in the end / I gave an outstanding bow. [TONY LE]

The hieroglyphically, mystical, quite artistically advanced sonar between our heart beats / Beats against the rain, switching lanes, competition metaphorically strange / But that’s alright because I’ll use my brain using trains and planes as the crane glides overhead you [KRISTINE BURBANO]

I’m an addict to coffee and a lover of books / But I never read, and I never drink / Because I leave the book sitting there / Because the shots just wash down the sink. [GABBY SAECHAO]

IN HER OWN WORDS: I drew this picture a while ago in 7th grade or 8th grade. When I am bored or want to pass the time I l ike to draw.

K A T I E REYNOLDSWORK-DORKN A T U R EA R T I S TS C I E N T I F I C V I O L I N I S T

Compass Points.

Theory

[KHEN UNTALAN]

[BRIANNA MORI]

[HANNAH FRANCESCHINA]

[RAKIB MIRZA]

First, I think of fall with its naked trees and wet roads scattered with red, orange, yellow and brown leaves, and grey and white gloomy days. Then I think of winter, icy roads, icicles hanging from house gutters, hanging from the bumpers of cars, snow covering everything outside, the streets, the trees, bikes, buildings, apartments, houses, trailers, and sidewalks. Anything left out can not escape the snow. / Then I think of what would be enjoyable for those chilly, wet and cold seasons. I think of being in the house staring at a fire and making the chimney smoke like a pothead. Then having the TV on, a blanket, some Grade A milk or yellow, creamy and smooth eggnog, and to top it off, a fresh apple pie out the oven. / I remember when I was a little kid, born and raised proudly in Long Island, New York. My uncle, after his job at Mickey D’s, would always bring home 2 apple pies for me. I remember it like it was yesterday. The McDonald’s apple pie boxes were red and yellow. Everytime he brought an apple pie, it made my day. Even if I was having a bad day, an apple pie was enough to change my sadness into feeling better and most of the forgetting why I was sad. Apple pie reminds me of my childhood, of where I came from and who I am. / To some people, apple pie is just food, but to me it’s more than just dough, filling, apples and cinnamon, it’s something that reminds me of my life in New York, of the days I used to go to Pre-K, Elementary and Middle School. [RONY CELIS]

Everywhere I look, I find poor substitutes for my desires.

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1. My name isn’t appropriate for my gender.Originally, my mother wanted to name me LaTasha.Unfortunately, my name was “stolen” by my great

aunt and now my cousin has the name, since she was born six months before me. Since the name was taken, my mom was left scrambling for something else to call me.

Then one day she thought, “Oh, it’ll be awesome to name her Ajane.” The problem is, she got that name from a boy she went to school with. I have a feeling “Ajane” means something really manly from wherever that boy comes from and I’m not living up to my manly name.

2. It will be impossible to get a decent job.In my mom’s haste to come up with a name, she

didn’t come up with a normal name. If my name was Lucy, I’d have no problem getting a job. But since my names is Ajane, my employer will see my name, think it’s strange, and throw out my application. It won’t matter if I have a four-year degree or if I meet qualifications, my employer will want to hire Lucy instead since she has a nice name, easy to pronounce.

When I did have a job - at a place I will refer to as “Pedophile Paradise” - my supervisor would mispronounce my name on purpose. Also this random black police officer told me that my last name was a Carib last name, and that they got it from the Portuguese. I said “Really?” but I didn’t care, I just wanted him to take his pizza and go away.

3. They are trying to force me to be African.I’m from America, just like white people. I am not

from a tribe and I don’t do any rain dances. So ... because I’m dark I have to be African?

For example, two years ago I was in a class where we learned about ethnicities. The teacher told us we weren’t from America and asked us to say where our ancestors really came from.

When it was my turn I asked how to say I was Black. The teacher said I couldn’t say I was Black, so I asked her to skip me. But she was on a power trip and wanted to show her authority and wouldn’t skip me. I kept trying to tell her I was Black but she wouldn’t listen. To make a long story short, she wanted me to say I was African and I told her no.

She told me to go home and ask my parents where I came from and when I told her, “Well, my mom tells me I’m Black,” she got all upset. Meanwhile, the class was getting impatient with me like it was my fault the teacher wouldn’t skip me. The other kids told me to say I was African, but I told them no too.

And Tien called me Mufasa which I’m still upset about, since I wasn’t calling him Shing Po or anything. And he didn’t even get in trouble. Anyway, she told me to ask Eric Wing what he was, but at this point I was mad, so I told her no again.

And then she kicked me out.It’s scary not to know who you are, but I’m still

young and trying to figure things out. I am Black, with a strange name that’s really for a man, and that may make it tough for me to get a job, so I have a lot to think about.

But this is what I do know. I know my mom loves me, despite unknowingly giving me a complex. I know that pop isn’t good for me, but if I drink one, it’s definitely going to be Dr. Pepper. I know I say and do random things, which can make me seem a bit strange.

I also know that, eventually, I’ll find myself and claw myself out of this identity crisis. [AJANE BURNLEY]

Three reasons why I’m suffering an identity crisis:

IN HER OWN WORDS: I really had to say what I felt about my identity. If I was African, I would be pissed off if there were these people calling themselves African when they don’t know the culture or traditions.

A J A N E BURNLEYE X - S H I A L E B O U F F A N A T I C Z E B R A T A T T O O E D E D I T O R

My school was having a dance. I went, and I’m not sure why I did.

I got there, saw a couple of my friends grinding with all the girls and thought, “I wish I knew how to grind like that.”

So they come up to me and are like “Ay, what’s good bro ... see you made it.” I respond, “Yeah, just came to see what’s poppin’ and see if I should stay,” knowing the only reason I said “see if should stay” is because I’m secretly hoping to leave because I don’t have faith I can dance like them.”

About an hour into the dancing and I’m still sitting on the stage, bobbing my head to E40, hoping no girls come over and ask me to dance. But you know how that works.

A soft crisp voice hits my ear like a sugar burst in a kid, swiftly interrupting my daydream. “Michael, Michael.”

“What? Oh, hey.”“You want to dance?”“Ummmm-umm um-my-stomach-head-hurt-my-

arm-is-from-gym-maybe-later.”“Well, okay,” she responds. “I will be over there.” I

think to myself, “Dang, what am I doing? Did I just say that? OMG, get it together Michael.” However, deep down inside I know it’s not over yet.

The dace is about to end, and the DJ announces, “Five more songs and that’s it.”

I yell out in my mind. The hot, funky air touches my tongue and makes me almost spit on the teacher in front of me, but somehow I bite down on my tongue to stop myself.

Too $hort comes on, and it’s my song, but before I take that last step toward dancing a crowd of people form around me and begin their attack to get me to dance.

“Come on, dance with her.”“Michael, you can dance.”“Just fill the beat. Do it, do it, do it.”So I say OKAY IF YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP. So I

take her by the arm in the middle of the floor and begin my attack. I’m feeling the beat so much I’m grabbing everything and moving and spinning things around and coming back yelling. The crowd is going wild. I slowly start to hear GO MICHAEL! GO MICHAEL! YES! I did it!

My first dance with a girl. I think this is the best thing ever. Pressure: Sometimes it works in negative ways, and sometimes positive, but in my situation who knows.

[MICHAEL WOODS]

IN HIS OWN WORDS: I am trying to change the world with wisdom. Don’t set yourself up for failure. Never rest all of your hopes with other people.

MICHAEL WOODSDANCERP O I N T J U N K I ES T U N N E R

M A N

I was pressured in the 7th grade.

[KATHERINE LING]

[JENNY DO]

Love

IN HER OWN WORDS: I didn’t have that much time to do it because I had to turn it in the next day, so I just chose a picture and added hearts to it.

J E N N Y D O

VAMPIRE B O O KR E A D E RI N F A N T L O V E R

Love isn’t forced. Love isn’t rushed. Love isn’t planned. Love is

unpredictable. Love is something waiting to be discovered. If

you love, don’t deny it. Cherish it. Love it. Feel it. Never let it go.

Love doesn’t have a price tag. Love doesn’t have an expiration

date. Love has feelings. Love is seen through the eyes of the

one receiving it. Can love be shown through little things? Or

does love have to be shown through the big picture? The only

down fall with showing love through the big picture, and not

by showing it through the small details, is that it might not be

the picture you wished for.

IN HIS OWN WORDS:: I’ve been writing since I was young but then I traded writing for sports. I wrote this for my friend and I wrote this for her because I wanted her to know that I was there for her. It’s like a message in a way.

P . J . BENEDICTUSOPEN-EYED P E R S O N

B I G H E A R T E D

R U N N E R

Love isn’t just about receiving diamonds or any other jewelry. It’s not about fancy dinners and private getaways.

[JAMIE DYTIACO]

While shopping at Safeway, I had a sweet tooth for a golden sponge cake with cream filling, in a log shape, often popular in North America. The shortcake thingies with white cream inside... So delicious, I love the sweet mouth-watering Twinkies with different flavors. The smell of a deep fried Twinkie is so good. One bite of it is worth the money. The taste of Twinkies is like the taste of 150 calories going into your body. I remember when I was little my mom always threatened, “Stop eating that fatty food or you will be a fat boy, and if that happens I’ll kick you out of the house and strip you naked.”[SAM HYUNH]

He sits there, book in hand, head bowed, big, olive-green eyes focused. It has been three months, one week, four days and about two hours from the day since I confessed to him my need for space.

Actually, that’s an understatement because by ‘I confessed to him my need for space’ I mean to say, I threw a hard object at him and yelled ‘Stay away from me’ rather loudly. I can’t recall what kind of object it was but I do remember: I didn’t miss.

Another unforgettable thing about that was the hurt I saw in his eyes, pain not only from the object

that had hit him but from the cold, mysterious, unexplainable words that spewed from my mouth.

The most illogical thing to ask for. After all of the persuading I had to do for him

to give up on me, the truth was, I did love him. I still do. Maybe if I didn’t have these powers, it would have worked out. Time and time again I would ask him why he still stayed despite my obligation and why he puts himself at risk by being with me, and time and time again he would tell me that

I want a superhero who will sweep me off my feet. I need a hero, a very unique hero.

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he could be safer with a normal girl but not happier.

[CHRYSANTHEMUM BINAYUG]

[JASMINE MARLEY]

[JESSICA SCHMITT]

I regret not spending enough time with my grandmother before she died.I regret taking my parents’ love for granted.

I regret procrastinating on my homework. I regret I didn’t go to sleep earlier when I have to wake up 3 hours later.

I regret not studying for my final exam. [CINDY LIM]

Most of my decisions were bad because I started stealing from others in my neighborhood, fighting with others, and associating with gang affiliations. Committing these types of acts made me look as if I was raised wrong, when I wasn’t. These decisions made my parents ashamed of me because they knew what I was doing and I still didn’t stop because I thought it looked cool. All the bad things that I did caught up to me and erased all my opportunities off my card because they turned out to have my name in the books at the station. Having a record with a background of a criminal caused me to give up on my future. [RAFAEL ISABELL]

ARROW 8910

Memory

03 31 10

I regret not spending enough time with my grandmother before she died.I regret taking my parents’ love for granted.

I regret procrastinating on my homework. I regret I didn’t go to sleep earlier when I have to wake up 3 hours later.

I regret not studying for my final exam. [CINDY LIM]

[JESS

ICA

SCH

MIT

T]

GROWTHI ’m non-conformist. Kind of .

Hel lo world, my name is Complex A Bit , the inhibited truth in my words. The consequence of sounds

leaving my l ips . Make your persuasion mine. So f ind r ight in my perception or get out of l ine. I hate when

authority demands, doesn’t ask, disregarding respect and treating lower people l ike trash.

I ’m non-conformist. Kind of .

Social izat ion, general izat ion, covalent bonds of people. I give in to laugh at his status, her color, and their

c lass . To harass , join the masses of ignorance. Epidemic: l ike the Swine Flu, type Z. I ronic : I dread the

stereotypical ly, moral ly hypnotical ly, radiance every day.

I ’m non-conformist. Kind of .

Madness and success seem to come hand in hand. Own f lawless personas, our looks, what we

own. Ugh. Why is value and beauty exaggerated? Nike’s , Northfaces and UUG’s , oh my! I stand to f ight

against greedy powers . [And I don’t mean money, but a poor empty mind.] The worst k ind of ghetto of a l l

mankind. Yesterday, I sold my soul to Forever 21, and got some dope white dunks cuz I just wanted some.

I just wanna look, I suppose.

I ’m non-conformist. Kind of .

Sashayed in to c lass l ike, “Kiss my ---- ,” and the teacher states , “Success equals knowledge and i f

I don’t know these answers I ’ l l never f inish col lege.” I say, “ What are def init ions when you die i f you

can def ine ‘you’?” He repl ied with two blank bl inks and I sat down and bel ieved him cuz there was

nothing else al lowed to think.

I ’m non-conformist. Kind of .

I am no conformist ; i t was in the syl labus. Kind of sunrise, rub my eyes. Jump outta bed on three hours

of s leep, st i l l a lot of homework and chapters to be read. I ask my teacher, “ What don’t we analyze some

real- ish, l ike why communism, violence, cultural ignorance, the homeless , s lavery and US constitut ional

contradict ions STILL exist? And you know what he said? . . . You know what he SAID? . . .

Shouldn’t you be concerned about the test you missed? Missed answer, subst ituted by distract ion?”

I ’m pissed. Why is so much of our youth blocked by things that don’t matter but things that now do;

everything such a fal lacy, an i l logical truth. He asks , and with this grade, what career do you expect to

obtain? I say “ To walk upon Saturn’s r ings, study al l walks of things, and as to why my intel lect surpassed

the boundaries of sky, no l ie and get my PhD in l iv ing, not just being. I gotta feel ing i f I fa l l there’s a lways

a way to get up and try. Good enough answer? No. Oh wel l , the end

[KRISTINE BURBANO]

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Computers are mutersWe’re entering a deaf and dumb age

With our thumbs bigger than our eyes

The soft rains that we don’t missAtrophic legs and over-developed thumbs

We won’t speakWon’t even squeak

Just type to some kid living on the ChesapeakeAnd ski on the virtual peaks

Because the real ones have melted awayToo bad we didn’t care

Too busy playing video gamesAnd worrying about meaningless shame

While the ultimate shame was perpetuatedAnd perpetrated

Upon us by our parents’ complacent generationToo concerned with

Relaxation andHigh taxation

What a dumb nationDestined for nature’s damnation

With all the other failedCivilizations

They try and we cry victoryThey fail and we hail apathy

My generation we need to raise our own sailAnd begin our voyage down the river of change

Age stalls usApathy befalls us

And appalls us

So afraid of failureCan’t you tell you’rePlaying their game

The man with no name will lead us to change And if we save ourselves we’ll lead each other to fame.

IN HIS OWN WORDS: ‘Suburbia!’ is about urban renewal which is one of the concepts I came upon in reading Edward Abbey: nature will always win. ‘My Generation’ is about society and the path that we are on.

C O L E JENNINGSP E N S I V E H I P P I E R U S S I A N R E A L I S T C U R R Y C O N N O I S S E U R

MY GENERATION’S

SUBURBIA!Birds fly into a pastel skyWhere gods stand like uncutLumber in eternal slumber

Dawns’ break thrusts them all awake“Jesus Christ!”They all say

Then they spied that first ray“We’re doomed!”They all say

Then came a crane with a wrecking ballParallel to its brand nameIt swung and knocked theGods off their pedestals

And then the land became all the sameWith one nameSuburbia!

And in this land there wasLaw and order and itPermeated up to their front doors

And nature was sharply controlledFlowers trimmed and sod unrolledHouses sprung up in neat little rows

But the fresh paint could no longer hide The broken homes Cracks formed in the pavement

But no one would pay to fix itFor no money was around

So the weeds grew and grewAnd the humans fledAnd the sky bled

The trees sprung up without dread The lake was never redAnd the frogs were always fed

[VICTOR FERNANDEZ]

RELATIONSHIPS

[ELI DE LOS SANTOS]

We say we love flowers, yet we pluck them. We say we love trees, yet we cut them down.

And people still wonder why some are afraid when told they are loved. [RAVEN WINFREY]

Girl: Are you really okay? What happened?Boy: I’m just hurt. It’s killing me. Like yesterday

I wanted a kiss and she said no, not anymore. She said she wants me to stop. So I was like uh … okay? And then she told me last night she needed to talk to me and I was like, ‘Is it a bad thing about us?’ She said, ‘Yeah.’

Girl: Have you guys talked yet? Well, just think of it as another stepping stone to something great. It makes your path longer to happiness, but you see more things on your way. Whether it’s good or bad, don’t think of it as a negative situation or a burden, just walk away with your head held up. I know I was never there, and I never did much for you and I’m sorry I wasn’t. So just hear me out now. Don’t be sad and mopey; be strong and bright.

Boy: Thanks. It means a lot to me that you’re listening ... I’m just stuck.

Girl: I’m not just trying to listen. I’m trying to help you. I want you to actually do something about it. How are you stuck on someone you just started talking to or getting to know? When was the last time you felt this way?

Boy: We’ve been talking for a while. I don’t know. Girl: Don’t rush something that was never meant

to happen. You’ll just get your hopes up, and end up getting hurt even more.

Boy: Okay, I guess.Girl: Stop giving me short answers.

[KRISTEN NGUYEN]

Sometimes it’s nice to have a friend there for the advice and for the comfort that they give. Doesn’t matter how long you’ve been friends with that person but it’s what you put into the friendship that makes it last.

When your heart is in ties / And your smile in disguise / When you look into each other’s eyes / All you feel are butterflies / You know what that is? / It’s called ‘young love. [CHANDLER AING]

03 31 10 121314

The perfect man could be standing in the same room as her but she can’t realize

it because of that barrier around her. That perfect man can try and pick up all the

millions of pieces of her heart that her past left laying on the ground. This perfect

man can try to rebuild that woman’s heart piece by piece and she can’t even see

that, because there’s a barrier in the way of her seeing the man kneeling before her

picking up the millions of pieces of her heart off the ground. [P.J. BENEDICTUS]

ARROW

IN HER OWN WORDS: I have been drawing all of my life, but these days it isn’t as much of a main hobby like it used to be. Also, tigers are my mom’s favorite animal so I ended up drawing it for her.

L I Z DONOHUEINNOCENT Y O U T H N AT U R A L B O R N D R A W E R

Stuttering.When I was 2 years old I didn’t talk.

I attended Head Start at my church and finally started talking when I was 3.

In third grade I attended Life Management because I had a difficult time keeping up in school. I have been in Life Management for 9 years.

During kindergarten through 5th grade I was making friends. When middle school hit I began losing some of my social skills because I didn’t fit in with the normal kids. My peers teased me because they thought I was weak, ugly and retarded. I started stuttering in the 8th grade. Multiple kids called me bad names and made fun of my stuttering.

The stress of being made fun of caused my stuttering to get worse. After I graduated from Nelsen Middle School I transferred to Renton High School and my speech, writing and social skills declined.

I didn’t become friends with most of the regular and popular kids because they stopped talking to me once they heard me stutter. I met one girl who was nice to me and she was my friend. She treated me like a normal person when she was alone, but whenever she was around her other friends she was a different person.

I met another peer who I thought wanted to be my friend because she showed interest in me. But now she hardly talks to me.

I don’t talk very much in school because no one wants to communicate with me, except for one good friend. In the classroom I feel like I am treated differently and sometimes ignored by my classmates and teachers because I struggle to communicate. I look normal on the outside, but when I speak, I stutter. [KEVIN M. JONES]

Music speaks to my soul / It tells a story that’s untold / Frees a heart lost in a hole / Frees two hearts and makes then one soul / And makes them one whole / Music takes away my years. [VALENTINE MUNIDI]

LANGUAGE“There are many ways

to describe Bob. Blah blah blah blah blah……… As you can see there are many ways to describe Bob.”

See? That’s a prime example of one of the reasons Jane Schaffer is not a very good writing style. It’s too repetitive. It also limits writers to using “for example,” “as a result,” “also,” “another reason,” etc. Sometimes writers just don’t need those. I mean, you don’t see J.R.R. Tolkien writing like that, do you?

The Jane Schaffer writing style is used like training wheels. It’s good to help writers get started, but then they need to let it go. While I do admit that it helped me become a better writer, I really feel like I need to move on. It really limits the possibilities for me. I’m really tired of starting all my sentences with the same old boring transitions.

Also, Jane Schaffer can be extremely repetitive. It might not sound like it’s repeating itself when it’s being written, but writting and reading are two different things. Now I will complete the Bob paragraph, to show what I mean:

“There are many ways to describe Bob. For example, he’s very slick and aware, like when the hall monitor looked down at the detention pass he was writing Bob, Bob slipped into the bathroom unnoticed. Also, when Joe tried to sneak up behind him, Bob knew what Joe was trying to do. As you can see, there are many ways to describe Bob.

Now look at that. When I was writing it, it didn’t seem repetitive at all because of how long it took me. But now that I read it, it smacks me right in the face. That paragraph couldn’t have repeated itself more poorly.

Practically the only thing that needs a concluding sentence in Jane Schaffer is the concluding paragraph because it takes much longer to get there from the introduction paragraph than it does from an introduction sentence to concluding sentence. So here it is: In summary, Jane Schaffer is great to get someone started writing, but then there is a need to let it go. [JOHN MEHLHAFF, as written in 8th grade]

[ELI DE LOS SANTOS]

Why Jane Schaffer Sucks:

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All you see is the unique golden color of this crescent-shaped cookie wrapped inside of a

piece of plastic at your table. Well, you reach slowly for the crescent-shaped cookie thinking

to yourself, “Hmm, I wonder what the little white piece of paper inside is going to say.” You

crack open the fortune cookie and pull out the little slip of paper. While reading something

on it, you think, “Is this really going to happen?” In a couple of hours something strange

occurs to you and you realize that your fortune actually came true. [BRIAN VO] Though

In 2nd grade, I moved to a different town, so I was transferred to a new school. When I first got there everyone was very nice and welcoming. But as the year went by, students started to pick on me because of the way I spoke English.

It wasn’t very nice. Also, since I barely knew how to read and

pronounce words they made fun of me. They would say, “Say this word, Ivonne. What does it say?” All I could hear was the laughter in the background.

So every Wednesday my teacher would have a story time activity, where you were supposed to read a short story to the entire class and if you wouldn’t volunteer she would call on you.

I guess everyone had to go. When she chose me, I couldn’t understand why she would do that. Knowing that my English was beyond horrible, she still chose me.

When I got up to sit on the rocking chair, I felt my stomach fall out. It was like I was experiencing excruciating pain, but mentally instead of physically, like all the students could easily hurt me.

So as I began to read, the laughter began. I would at times pause to look up at my teacher but all she would say was, “Keep going! You’re doing great.” It seemed like she was enjoying my terrible reading as much as the rest of the class. When I was finally done, all I wanted to do was go home and cry, hide out for several years and not go to school for a while, but I had no other choice.

By the time I had reached 4th grade, my vocabulary and the way I spoke matured. All thanks to those extra ESL classes and tutoring. That helped me out a lot. [IVONNE AVALOS]

A Road To Hardship

Tonight I can write about the most painful word of all. It’s not too long but I could eventually leave you breathless, as it did my mom. It can spread so fast not even forest fire could keep up. Pick the most harmless person, who everyone needs, and

tear them down. There are some really lucky ones who have fought this word many times, but some who haven’t; they are all strong even if they lost. I guess we just all have to accept that cancer is everywhere!.[AMBER OLIVER]

The Word I Dread.

IN HER OWN WORDS: I want to do broadcasting and journalism after high school. Mr. Smith gave us an assignment, he told us we could write about anything we wanted to write about.

IVONNE AVALOSDREAMER INDEPENDENT W O M A N F U T U R E B I L L I O N A R E

I used to live less than a hundred miles from

China, I never had a fortune cookie until I

moved to Virginia. [SAUGAT CHHETRI]

14151603 31 10 ARROW

INFINITY

[JOHN MEHLHAFF]

mankind is a joke they say many things but all they do is choke on their mistakes

they try to pick themselves up again and grab one thing that’s out of their reach but

can that breech another age or will god take back what’s rightfully his and create

a world with no sins or will evil hack its way back on the land the garden of Eden

grows and air where the white doves fly above and in the water where like is never

heard on the promised lands and just repeat history again [JAMES ENEBRAD]

J A M E S ENEBRAD W R I T E R CONSUMER M Y S T E R Y P O E T

IN HIS OWN WORDS: I wanted to relate to the world and how I was feeling. One night, I was just in the mood to write poems. I didn’t think anyone would read it, it was a personal thing. I was talking about the three layers of earth: land, water and air.

J O H N MEHLHAFF RANDOM PHOTOGRAPHER M O R N I N G G L O R Y O B S E R V E R

IN HIS OWN WORDS: I was riding in the car and was once again taken back by the beauty of the Northwest that shows itself once in awhile, when the rain takes a break. So I pulled out my camera phone and took this picture.