7-Aby L: Never Been Picked

Never Been Picked. Never experienced the joy of giving someone you love a small gift. Never had the type of love where just another day felt so magical just because you had someone. I remember in 3rd grade giving out fun-dip or little cards with hearts and sparkles. I remember being told "only bring something if there is enough for the whole class". Only ever given a Valentine because it was a rule to bring one for everybody. Since elementary school valentines day has had no significance, no meaning,nothing exciting about it. Three years of highschool, not one Valentines day spent with someone who meant something to me. Simply just another day. So bleak, so boring. So utterly depressing. I was never asked to be someone's valentine, I was never pretty enough, never smart enough, simply just wasn't enough to the boys at school. I wasn't popular, I wasn't the girl they all dreamed of getting a chance with. I was funny and I gave them the answers. Nothing more nothing less. Never being enough even for one dumb day hurt, it made the day seem so pointless to me. I couldn't fathom why so many people saw this day as something so amazing, I couldn't understand what was so special about it and why I was one of the few people who hated it so deeply. I hated Valetines day. I have hated it for longer than I can remember. I've wanted to skip over this day every year. That is until someone could prove I was something special, something important, something meaningful to them. I finally felt the importance of being loved, being appreciated, being wanted. After all the love I've given out, the love I've expressed, I'm finally receiving it. It may sound like such a small thing, something so insignificant, but now knowing the excitement behind a day where you can be as cringe, as clingy, as cheesy as you want. The feeling of being able to plan a day around one person. Around spending the day with one person. A person who is important and beautiful to you. Your person. 17 years of valentines days 5 years of possibilities to spend the day with someone. Every chance missed, until now. Such a hallmark consumer holiday, something I hated for so long. Something I never thought would seem so important and beautiful to me. Valentine's day has finally become something I'm looking forward to. Spending a idiotic holiday with someone I find so enchanting, seems like a win to me. Finally a win. Word Count:427

6-Aby L. :A Woman Of Love, Lies, and Fame

Evelyn Hugo, a mighty complex woman, throughout the 400 page fictional story we dive into the true Ms.Hugo. From fighting tooth and nail for fame to faking 7 heterosexual marriages to be with the woman she loves. Evelyn was not someone you could love or hate. You can't have one opinion on a woman with so many different sides. Hugo was a hard working talented liar, she did whatever she had to to get where she wanted and what she wanted. Never letting anything or anyone come in her way. Losing the love of her life because she couldn't break away from the fame and fortune to truly love Celia St. James. Hugo learned the hard way about life. Forcing herself out of hell's kitchen to become a famous movie star, an icon, and a gorgeous beauty standard in the 50s. All Hugo wanted was to build an amazing life and get famous, which she did. It cost her best friends, her true self, family, and the women she loved. She realized it wasn't entirely worth it if she outlived every person she had ever truly loved. Nobody knew the real evelyn hugo, they saw her as a beautiful talented woman, nothing else. They didn't see her drive, her passion. They didn't know who she truly was, what she loved, who she loved. She never let them, that is till she decided to have Monique write her story after her death. The not expected ending to her life was assumed to come at the one thing she used most to get her fame. It was supposed to finally take her out, in the form of a horrendous disease. But instead of Hugo letting life happen as it was, she chose to leave this world on her own terms. After Hugo's death, her real story finally came to light. The real Evelyn Hugo, mistakes, the beauty, the ugly, the truth, and her many lies all exposed on her terms.

5- Aby L.: The Power Of Song

The Power Of Song The art of music heavily impacts many people's lives. From Indie to Rap, music has so many different meanings and affects people differently. Music has made such a difference in my life the past three years. Getting me through hard times and being the reason I feel alive when I'm with friends. Songs like Maniac by Conan Gray being screamed in the car with my best friends. Songs like Mine by Awfultune I can cry to when I'm sad. Music has been a heavy influence in my life, learning guitar and bass, writing my own songs and taking inspiration from bands like The Beatles and Queen artists like Grimes and Awfultune. All of these inspirations to create something original and meaningful. The time, patience and art behind creating music is such a powerful soothing thing. Being able to create something you're passionate about and proud of. Being able to express yourself through lyrics or a simple guitar riff. During my hardest point over quarantine I picked up guitar, and even though it was one of the most frustrating things I've tried to learn, I remember the smile on my face when I could finally play through Hey Jude or Come As You Are. It kept me going, it made me feel so happy and free being able to play such beautiful things and create my own beautiful music. Music is such an important thing to so many other teenagers and it was such an important part of Black history. Jazz music being a huge part of the 1920s in Harlem, music has proved time and time again to be a powerful force. Word Count:272

6 - Zack Rabold - With no regrets

One summer day in 2014 everything was going great. My dad has just taken my sister Aly and I for milkshakes and we were about to watch a movie after we finished chores. As my sister was vacuuming, our oldest dog of two, Dutch, started to have a serious coughing fit. Aly took him outside believing he just had to throw up, so we went back to normal business while she took care of him for a moment. A minute or two later she came back saying he hasn’t stopped coughing. I started to panic and my dad assured me it was alright, that he just ate something that got stuck so he went outside to help. I watched through the back door and my dad’s face started to change from curiousness to worry, which is when I knew something was actually wrong because my dad was not one to get visibly panicked. I walked outside and he explained to us he doesn’t know what’s wrong. Dutch continued to cough and throw up and now blood was starting to come out with it. We were all scared. My dad went around the corner of the house to call my mom to ask if she could come home from work. While we waited for her we sat around Dutch who had finally stopped throwing up. I could tell he wasn’t going to make it. I didn’t know what to do. Or what to say. Or even what to feel. I’d never dealt with anything like this before. We took him to the vet and due to internal bleeding we had to put him down. I didn’t exactly understand death yet but I immediately felt regret. I should have played with him more, I could have taken him on more walks. All the things I did wrong. Or at least what I thought I did wrong. The guilt kept building when I realized I’d never get to make all those things up to him. I would never get to repay the dog that would make sure to stand directly under me or my sister whenever we would climb a tree or anything else just so he could break our fall if we slipped and let go, or the dog who would bark at our younger dog if he ever got too rough with us. Or even the dog who would always stand in front of us whenever someone he didn’t recognize knocked on the door. I couldn’t protect the dog who had protected me for years. But as the days went on and the grieving took its course I started to understand a little more about death. It was unpredictable. No pattern or warning. It’s just sudden. And from then I knew that I wanted every relationship I had with a parent, a friend, a pet, and car, and anything that has any emotional value to me to have no regrets. I can’t expect myself to be perfect because if I do I’ll never be satisfied, but I want to always know that I did my best. I treated them as good as possible so that when it ends whether it's me or them that has to leave, I can look back and appreciate my time with them.

4-Aaron: Who not what

 

 It was May nineteenth, it was a Sunday morning, it was my birthday, when I suddenly woke up craving pancakes for breakfast. Being the center of attention that day meant that my craving would be fulfilled without any opposition from my parents, and I had to take full advantage of this opportunity.

On our way to my favorite restaurant (black bear) my mouth drooled for the side of pancakes that came with the grizz. 

For those who haven't been enlightened with this amazing dish, the grizz is a delightful plate that is served with two sausages, two eggs, ham, and hashbrowns.

 After getting my hands on the food that I had so long been waiting for, I took a moment to look around, and after analyzing the table I saw my mom, dad, grandparents, niece, and my amazing friends who were visiting from LA.

I then took a small bite from my pancakes and they were just as I had imagined them, but I shortly realized that it wasn't the pancakes that I was enjoying, it was the moment in which I found myself. Don't get me wrong, the food was delicious, but what made it such a memorable breakfast was the fact that I was surrounded by the people who I loved the most. Sometimes it isn't  about how good the movie was or how good the food was, what truly matters is the people who you share these times with and that is why for me this was the best breakfast ever.

WORD COUNT: 254

6-Recylable-Jacob Penrose

 

A chore that I utterly despise doing is taking out the recyclables for a multitude of reasons.

For instance, I have to tediously separate any aluminum soda cans from the recycling bin into a trash bag so that we can deposit it into the recycling plant for money. 

I also hate emptying out the recyclables because you have to make several trips back to the house to fully remove all of the recyclables since each cardboard box, bottle, plastic container, and aluminum tray is so irregularly shaped that you cannot fit all of them into one crate.

I especially despise when a few of the containers and bottles are not fully emptied, resulting in a vile cocktail of various liquids that smells potent and drips all over my shoes and pants.

What adds onto my dislike to moving the recyclables is that emptying them into the bin produces a cacophony of shattered glass, scraping cardboard, and clattering aluminum trays that pierces my eardrums.

Worse still is the fact that the bin itself is sat alongside the garbage and green-waste bins. Both of which produce a scent that offends my nostrils as well as making it a lot harder to move an already cumbersome bin filled with recyclables.

6 - Abhishek S: A Lot On My Plate

What goes on behind the scenes in a restaurant is mostly a mystery for the average person. For something as intimate as preparing a meal for another you would expect the average consumer to know more about those preparing the food and the type of methods. Anthony Bourdain in his book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly sheds light on the culinary industry and describes his own personal experiences.

Bourdain uses vivid imagery and tons of descriptive language in his anecdotes that bring his stories to life. He talks about living in New York and being a line cook. His co-workers were rough, motley crew of individuals often with troubled pasts and criminal records. Throughout his career and the careers of those he worked alongside, there was a prevalence of substance abuse. Bourdain illustrates that kitchen environment as hectic and overwhelming for those who are not prepared for what is in store. 

He also walks the audience along his journey of moving up the ladder in his career. He worked at many different restaurants and spent that time honing his craft becoming the best cook he could be. Along the way he met a host of interesting characters and made a lot of long time friends. 

If you want to get a first hand account of what goes in the kitchen, I highly recommend this read. As I read this book I honestly became motivated to become a cook myself. Something about how he described the job piqued my interest. It seemed like an exciting and adrenaline filled experience. 

6 - Em Lin - Out with the old, in with the new

 

Week #6 - Everything’s an argument

Respect is something that I believe should be gained rather than to be expected. In China, older people are considered more knowledgeable, wise, and deserving of respect from younger people. Naturally, I followed along with those norms, and I do believe that you should treat older people with a little patience and civilness, but not with complete respect. Most of the times, the older generation expect complete respect and obedience from younger people, but fail to reciprocate the same energy. I think this is why the whole thing of “karens” became a thing. A trend full of old people, more specifically older women, who act entitled and rude towards anybody and everybody, then act surprised when they periodically receive the same energy back. No one would voluntarily want or enjoy to be yelled at for things like a simple mistake that could’ve been resolved peacefully. However, older people tend to take these actions offensively at times, and that’s when the problems begin. 

The younger generation these days, in my opinion, I think, is way better at giving respect to those who deserve it. They don’t put up with anyone that acts way too entitled, but most of us understand that there are times where we just need to shut up and listen to the other person. Obviously that doesn’t we all do that, and many people within all age categories can act rude and entitled, but I wish that older generations could understand that when a younger person disagrees with them or does something they disagree with, it’s not out of disrespect, but because of a difference in opinion. 

Word count: 269

6- Yasmin G: You're worth the long lines

You’re worth the long lines

    The long lines at Disneyland, or waiting for Starbucks on an early Monday morning are nothing compared to the line I waited in for,

    you.

    I never thought in a million years you would be the person I waited for. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, months turned into way too many to count. It felt as if the people in the cafeteria lunch line just kept cutting in front of me, until the line was a mile long, and the lunch ladies could not move any slower. I waited.

    I waited. 

    But the wait felt too long. It was like I was a baby bird, waiting to be fed, but I was in a different nest from my siblings. Months and months went by, and the line was never ending.

    I remember when I was losing hope; right about to step out of line. I could never be loved how you loved me again, why was I even waiting? For someone else to come and hurt me again? I couldn’t let that happen to me anymore, I had to put up a shield and not let anyone break down my walls like

    You

    did. I couldn’t put myself through it.

    But then we both walked into an English class. Just a few desks away, I could finally feel your presence again, and the line seemed questionable. Almost like I was so close to the front of the line, but it started going even slower. I could have left. I could have ignored what I wanted at the end of the line and instead walked out of it, after months of waiting.

    But I didn’t. I stayed.

    And you spoke to me. Finally, I was at the front of the line. And the words that first passed through your lips I will never forget. I would wait in line for

    you

    A million times over again, no matter how long, how draining, how lonely. You’re worth it. 

4-My New Pace-Jacob Penrose

 

My New Pace

For many people, they tend to naturally change  over the course of a year or two. Others, however, tend to also stay the same since it is what they are the most comfortable with.

On a few occasions, I definitely have changed my approach to other occurrences. 

For one, I decided to make it a standard practice attempt to turn in my assignments on time rather than wait until the weekend to finish them. 

Also, I have begun to improve my sleeping habits so that I can rest for a few hours longer as well as waking up at around 5 or 6 so that I can have time by myself more often.

I mainly did these in an attempt to improve my lifestyle as well as making it so that I don’t have to stress-out over normally manageable things.

Improving my time management also allows me to have more moments in which I can hang-out with my family rather than being confined in my room, only coming out for dinner, and having to constantly skip on jiu jitsu.

For me, having a few moments throughout the month in which you have to only do work for the entire day is fine. However, I was repeating this on a near daily basis, resulting in me being stressed and unwilling to do anything else.

Hopefully, in “changing my pace” towards my lifestyle habits, I would be able to have a much better High School experience.

3-Dehydration-Jacob Penrose

 

        

Dehydration

When I was roughly 15 years old, seven other people from my boy scout troop, my brother, my dad and I began our supposedly 5 mile hike through Pinnacles national park. 

However, not even halfway into the first mile of an already long and arduous trek, one of the younger kids in our group had to go back to the car with his dad because he had too much gear in his backpack.

So while the rest of our group waited about 30 minutes for the kid and his dad to come back, we ended up drinking half of the amount of water that we prepared for the hike.

What was even worse about the water situation was that as soon as we drank all of our water about halfway into the hike. We found out that the kid and his dad didn’t return with any water to share with the rest of the group, only enough for the kid and his dad.

What truly sucked about Pinnacles was that the hike didn’t have any water refill stations other than the one at the beginning of the hike, coupled with the weather being oppressively hot without the aid of any shade resulted in everyone in our group becoming dehydrated.

With my energy beginning to dwindle, I just accepted that I would not be able to leave Pinnacles and I would just be too much of a hassle for my group to allow them to continue.

However, they pushed me on and we persevered until we arrived at the water refill station at the end of the hike, which for some of us, looked nearly unreal and felt like a blessing.

After we set-up our hammocks on a few oak trees and our sleeping bags in our vehicles, we had dinner which mainly consisted of a watery, vegetable stew meal. 

When I was finally able to rest after such a tiresome hike, it was one of the best sleeping experiences I have ever had.

From that moment on, I always made sure to pack more water than what may seem necessary whenever I go to a campout or to another hike out of fear of repeating the same situation that occurred at Pinnacles.

6 - Mel B - the rich scent of mopping

I don't like to clean, well I do but only if I choose to do it on my own if my older sister tells me to do it I will start a fight with her about how I cleaned the day before because I don't want to clean. Early Saturday mornings, and when I say early I mean early like 7AM. I will wake up to Bad Bunny being blasted on our jumbo party speaker and my sister and mom cleaning. I don't like mopping but its really all that I have to do, that and sweeping. I don't mind sweeping because to me its easy and its super fast to do as well. Just make a pile and scoop it up. but, mopping I hate it so much. it just makes me so mad when I have to do it. first of all we don't even have an actual mop. We have a broom with a towel. Why? because, my mom prefers it that way. I am rolling my eyes as I just wrote that last part. I hate getting the water ready and having to actually mop. It hurts my back. It genuinely does and I don't even have back problems. It's just hard reaching in small areas with a mop that's not even a mop at all. What I really like about it is that we clean with Fabuloso. and if you know about Fabuloso you just know just how iconic it is. I really love the smell of it and how good it leaves the house smelling after cleaning. Once I finish mopping and my fingertips and house smell like Fabuloso I feel satisfied because I'm finally done with the morning chores and I can lay back in bed.

6- Genecis Z.: Centuries Of Scrubbing

    

          

        

          I can’t do things for a long time without getting distracted or bored. And so when i’m washing dishes my feet are planted to the floor for what feels like centuries after centuries. 

Each plate seems to have been dragged across hell and back, and my weak arms and the brittle sponge can only do so much. Therefore there I stand for hours scrub, scrub, and scrub. 

In front of my sink there’s a window that opens up to the front of my house. As I drown out the sounds of the running water and the feeling of the silky soap all around my hands, I look outside and picture all the things I rather be doing than withering my hands away under the sink until my fingers prune up. 

The sun peaks through the rustling of the leaves on the neighboring trees, and blinds my brown eyes. And so I look back down and the once dirty plate is now shining white again. It is so clean that I can see my reflection in it, there lay my tired eyes as they do every day.

 

After what feels like hours the enormous stack of plates that seem to topple over the horizon is finally down to 3 spoons. And then it happens. 

I hear the light foot steps that can only match my younger sister. As I turn to meet her smaller figure, I see the worst thing imaginable.

Her small dainty hands, holding another stack of plates.

  

It takes all my strength and willpower not to drown her in the sink. (All of it)

And there I stand for another century scrubbing away my entire youth. Scrub, scrub, and scrub.

Word count: 282

6 - Hailey M; Old vs. New

Old vs. New

The older generations can have a variety of different opinions and beliefs that they were taught and learned from when they were younger. Though some of these opinions may be valid, some of them can be very biased. I believe the younger generation is more open and accepting than older ones. Older people can learn a lot from this, especially with all the things going on in the world right now. The younger generation now may be getting a lot of disagreement from the older one, but I believe this is only because the older generation isn’t used to change, and they’re so used to their way of life and opinions that they don’t want to be more open about switching things up. They believe that the younger generation is “immature” and go on about how different their lives were when they were younger, and how mental health wasn’t really a thing when they were young. This can be damaging to a child’s mindset, when parents act like their child isn’t struggling, and just look at it as a rebellious act. Our younger generation has been very open-minded to mental health, and can teach the older one a thing or two about it. 

Although the older generation can learn many things from the younger one, the youth can also learn some things from older people as well. Younger people could use their knowledge on the world, since they have been living here longer. For example, learning how to buy a house or car, or doing well on an interview for your first job. These are events that they’ve already been through, and can help out younger people who are getting ready for adulthood. 

Overall, both generations are able to learn a different set of skills from each other, and if we listen to what each other has to say, it may make people’s lives way easier. 

Word Count: 316

6- Destiny D - Protecting Intimate Details

Protecting Intimate Details 

When looking inside your own home it is easy to point out the functions of each item it contains. Doors are meant to be both opened and closed, as well as opaque. A permanently closed door creates a space that people rarely get to see. They are the gateway to every room and keep out the unwanted when necessary. 

An open door can be dangerous to those inside a house. It means anyone can come in and disrupt the peace. Open doors are often avoided because the idea of leaving the gateway to your home open for someone else to walk through is something that fears too many people. 

Windows are usually closed, but can be opened and are always see through. They protect you from the outside while still letting you view it and all it has to offer. Even when they are closed they are easy to look through, ultimately exposing the contents of the room they occupy. 

When opened they let in a variety of things from scents to insects, as well as letting out the intimate details of what goes on inside the house to those who care enough to listen.

If I was one of these openings I would be more of a door, preferably a normally closed one. I like to be alone, and I hate the process of opening up to people I don’t know. It is easy for me to ignore the social aspects of life because I don’t like feeling exposed. The idea of secluding myself and being able to choose who gets to see the details of my life is comforting in a way that a being window would never offer to me. 

If choosing to be a door means that I would have more control over the intimate details of my life, that is an opportunity I would jump at in an instant. 

Word Count: 314

6- Aaron Palma: My legs are tired

The memory of seeing my family members  exchange gifts on christmas has  always  brought happiness to my heart. Although it made me happy to see them happy I never really experienced the joy one feels when buying a gift for someone special. It wasn't until the age of 7 that something in me wanted to get my dear mother something for christmas. Wanting to buy a gift at the age of 7 without money is obviously hard, so I went to the  nearest resource, my dad.

My dad being the amazing man he is, told me that we could go to the store as soon as he had time off from work.

It was a friday afternoon when we made our way to the outlets in vacaville. Not knowing what to get for my mom led me to go off of an idea my dad gave me. He knew that my mother loved candles, so we ended up going to bath & body works. As we were picking the candle we saw that the line was getting extremely long, so my dad told me to wait in line while he selected the candle. Although I only waited for around 15 min, I became really annoyed at the fact that I had to be standing for such a long time and my legs were starting to hurt.

Looking back at this experience, I must say that the wait was worth it. Even though I didn't pay the literal money price, I still had to wait in line which was more than enough for me. For me the lines worth waiting for are those that involve another person and their happiness.

Word count: 278

6- Peyton Miller - When Two World's Collide

Younger generations tend to have a bad reputation for things especially this generation today. But there are numerous youth now who have a widespread imagination and great outlook on life that I believe the older generations can learn a lot from and be influenced by. Some of these things include open mindedness and difference in perspectives.

This generation of youth today, Generation Z, has developed a great sense of being open minded to not only new ideas but new processes, routines, etc. One of the simpler ones for youth would be making friends. When a child gains a friend it includes being open minded to their opinions, values, and ideas. For older generations though, this could be a struggle. Especially with politics the older generations tend to butt heads when another person has a totally different opinion then them rather then confiding and agreeing to disagree. Children on the other hand, are great at agreeing to disagree especially when it comes to the make-or-break type of situations in friendships especially. The older generations can most definitely learn from the many youth in the younger generations to not only agree to disagree but also be more open minded to new opinions, values, or ideas coming from new people they meet or even people they already know.

Being flexible and looking at things in a new and different perspective is a great way to connect with others but also adapt to your surroundings better. Generation Z seems to do this pretty well. For example, going back to the agree to disagree idea, when you do so, you also get to see the whole other side of a situation a person possibly never even shared a passing glance for. These things you can also learn from. Although younger generations may be very good at this, it is also a slight work in progress for the older generations. Especially when it comes to parents connecting with their children. Usually, a parent will always go with how they do things rather than taking into consideration why a child may be doing the things they’re doing. For example, if a child’s grades start dropping out of nowhere, parents are prone to just straight yelling or grounding a childhood until the grades go back up. Instead of this, they should take into consideration that the child could be struggling with mental health, stress, classwork, etc because there could be a whole other thing going on and they would just be making it worse by yelling at them.

Whether the influence comes from the younger or older generation I believe that we can all learn from each other. When we learn from other generations, it can help improve everyone all around and maybe even help people get along much better.

Word Count: 466

5 - Mel B - Chihuahuas

Chihuahuas

I wouldn't say I've observed a chihuahua, but I've watched enough Beverly Hills Chihuahua 1, 2, and 3 to say I'm knowledgeable on the subject. They say the best things come in little packages, and this dog definitely fits that description. First and foremost, where are they from? Chihuahuas originate in the Mexican state of Chihuahua and are thought to be a descendent of the techichi, another Mexican dog breed. These dogs are afraid of strangers. My ankles have been bitten by everyone I've ever met, and they're all extremely old. I'm not sure why, but every house I've visited where the pet is a chihuahua has been over 15 years old. These dogs be having a quinceanera instead of the girl. There's no way to get rid of them. Well, all of the ones this old that I've met have one thing in common. They are raised in a Latino family. Latino dogs are immortal. Cooked chicken bones, leftover tortillas, rice, soap, and other items are fed to them. These dogs have been attacked, ran over, been unable to walk, or become blind; their lives are hanging on a thread, but they always outlive their family members. That's insane. Their ability to survive for up to two decades. They bark loudly and are overprotective, but one thing I would say about them is that they are protectors. These four-pound dogs would be faced against a 70-pound XL dog. I've noticed that their eyes usually bulge from their head and are usually watery, they're extremely hyper and skinny.