First Chapter Of The Book I'm Writing

You would think that if a girl wanted a career then she wouldn’t go looking for someone to spend the rest of her life with before she had that career. Is it possible to find the love of your life and then become who you want to be?
If you’re anything like my friend, Kim, you would probably say a boyfriend never hurt anybody. But actually it could hurt me. I want to go to college and become a doctor. I need a best friend to cheer me on and be there when I need him most. I can’t imagine life without him, but he’s just my friend.
My mom always says I am supposed to marry my best friend. My best friend, Ryland, doesn’t make my face feel hot and the palms of my hands get all sweaty…Could we be more than friends or would it ruin everything?
I’m not like most girls here in California so I’m sure he doesn’t see me as girlfriend material. Sure, I’m tall, blonde and tan but I’ve never had a relationship with a guy before. I don’t really mind, because I’m so busy worrying about college and my career. I don’t need any distractions.
“I can’t believe your parents got you a car!” Ryland sat at the edge of the leather passenger seat of my new black escalade, pulling the seatbelt to its furthest. He rubbed his hands against the smoothness of the dashboard and sighed in jealousy.
“I couldn’t believe it either. At first I thought they were kidding, but when they handed me the keys I knew they weren’t.” I glanced out of the darkly tinted windows at the crowded parking lot and let out a sigh. Why did I have to be the last one here? Now, everybody would notice my new car.
“Oh my gosh!” He said flabbergasted.
“What?” I asked, nervous for the reply.
“Your car is going to be a magnet after you park. It’s the newest, nicest car here.” I nodded in agreement while Ryland sat back against the seat allowing his eyes to almost bulge out of his head.
“I was afraid of that, that’s why I told my parents if they were to ever get me an escalade to give it to me after graduation so I wouldn’t have to deal with people.” He rolled his eyes.
“You know, it’s not a crime to have something nice Abs.”
“I know that! It’s just…” I sighed again. “I don’t like all the attention. And you should know that by now. How long have we known each other?”
“Since we were three but you know what I mean. You don’t have to be embarrassed.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” I smiled.
“Right there!” He pointed to a spot in the furthest corner of the lot. “Oh yeah!” He had his, ‘I was so right’ tone of voice. “Everyone’s staring!” I looked over and watched as he made faces out of the window. I shook my head and laughed quietly.
“You’re such a dork Ry!” I punched his shoulder and his laughter echoed through my ears. I slowly turned the ignition off and listened as the soft hum of the engine silenced and was replaced by the people outside of the car shouting and whistling.
I secretly stared at Ryland as he reached behind his seat and grabbed his backpack from the back seat. He was well fit and he was wearing my favorite color, blue. It brought out his shining eyes and made his tiny freckles on his nose kind of pop out. He blew some hair out of his eyes, his hair had grown too long and I assumed he was letting it grow because I keep telling him to cut it.
“That’s okay because if I wasn’t a dork than I probably wouldn’t be your friend.” I laughed and cautiously wrapped my fingers around the handle, not wanting to get out of the car.
I pulled out the handle and heard the click of the door opening. The ground was covered with little specks of rain. I looked up at the sky only to see gray clouds.
“Nice ride.” Someone yelled from deep inside the crowd.
“Wanna take me for a ride?” Somebody else yelled. I gagged out loud and heard some more whistles. Oh please, like they haven’t ever seen a new car before. I tried unsuccessfully to convince myself that this was a dream.
“I thought only FBI agents had these kinds of cars.” I laughed at the stupidity of that comment and tried to ignore all the other statements I was hearing, but I couldn’t.
I skimmed over the crowd to find someone that I actually knew, because standing here in the middle of all these people made me feel even more embarrassed. Shockingly, instead of finding someone I knew, I found a new person, somebody I had never seen before.
He stood tall, showing off his perfectly tan body. His broad shoulders widened as he saw me staring at him, my eyes were glued on him. It’s not very often when someone new moves in with only a semester left of school, well that is here in Morro Bay.
His chocolate brown eyes glittered though there was no sun shining and my heart started to beat faster than normal and my head started to spin.
The first bell rang and the spinning stopped. I turned away and started weaving through the mass of people.
My foot hit something hard and in a blink of an eye, I was falling face first to the wet ground. My instincts kicked in and my arms flew out in front of me to keep myself from falling on my face.
My hands hit the ground hard, my body followed next. The small, little pieces of gravel dug into the palms of my hands. My arms weakened and I rolled over onto my back. I squeezed my eyes shut as if to hide myself, but it didn’t work as I planned. The laughs were quiet at first but then they got louder and louder.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” I didn’t know this voice but I didn’t want to open my eyes yet so I just nodded. His voice was soft, sweet and protecting. “Do you need help? Did you hit your head?” I shook my head, but he was still worried so I sat up and slowly let my eyes flicker open. He was leaning down towards me and I saw the familiar chocolate brown eyes gazing down at me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.” I whispered. It was only my pride that was hurt in this accident.
The people crowding around us thinned a little but the people who stayed deliberately made a smaller circle around me.
“I’m so sorry! Here” He stretched out his arm and held out his hand for me to take. “Let me help you up.” I just stared unsure of my next move until my clock started ticking again.
I nodded and reached out to touch his hand with mine. Our fingertips brushed against each other’s and I felt a warm tingly shock go through my hand all the way down to my toes. He lifted me up slowly to make sure that I wouldn’t get light headed.
“Thanks.” I choked out and quickly cleared my throat. Why did I have to lose my voice in front of this hottie?
“No problem. I really am sorry.” He sounded sincere.
“I’m fine, really.” I tried to tell him.
A smile grew on his face and two dimples appeared on his cheeks. “I’m Grant.” He held out his hand for me to shake. Again, I took it willingly.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Abby.” The second bell rang and he looked over his shoulder to hint that he had to go.
“It was a pleasure meeting you Abby. I’ll see ya around okay?”
“Okay.” I was unable to move. I stood there astonished until I felt somebody touch my shoulder.
“Are you okay Abby?” It was Ryland. I hadn’t even noticed he wasn’t there.
“Yeah I’m good.” I turned and looked at him. He still looked a bit panicked. “Come on we’ll be late for class.” He gave me a worried look, but followed me into the school.
By the time we had gotten to class the news of me being tripped in the parking lot had traveled across the entire school. I avoided contact with people as much as I could, but since I was at school, which was filled with hundreds of students, it was sort of hard.
My first class went by in a blur. I couldn’t stop thinking about Grant. Where did he move to? Where is he from? What’s he like? Questions flew in and out of my head. I not only wanted to know more about him, I needed to know more about him.
“Heard you collapsed in the parking lot.” A girl smirked as she walked past me at my locker. It reminded me of playing the game telephone when I was a kid, once the sentence gets all the way back to the person who started it, it’s totally changed.
“Don’t worry. People will forget soon.” Grant was leaning against the locker next to mine. His striped polo shirt was tight around his arms to show his muscle. I tried as hard as I could not to let my eyes get any bigger than they already were.
“I hope so!” I really did, I couldn’t live like this forever.
“I’m sorry I tripped you.” I smiled and pushed my locker door shut.
“I know, and I completely forgive you. It’s not your fault. I should’ve been watching where I was walking.” He half smiled and his eyes had a hint of gold in them.
“Well I still feel bad. What do you have next?”
“Calculus with Nielson.”
“No way! Me too!” He said when I smiled.
“Awesome. She’s great, you’ll love her.” We walked to the end of the hall and he held open the large wooden door for me. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” I bit my lip.
“Abby!” Kim screeched as she saw me walk in. I raised my eyebrows in shock, she was excited about something.
“I’ll talk to you later.” Grant said his last words and started talking with Mrs. Nielson. I groaned louder than I wanted.
“Abby you’ll never guess what just happened.” Kim hooked arms with me and dragged me to my seat in the back row.
“What?” I tried to show some enthusiasm, but the fact that she just utterly interrupted us made me a little angry.
“Josh asked me to be his girlfriend! Can you believe it?” She was about to jump out of her shoes she was so happy.
“That’s great Kim! I’m happy for you!” She grinned and skipped to her seat, I didn’t even have to ask her what she said because by the look on her face, it was a yes.
“Students, this is Grant Wilson. He’s from Augusta, Georgia and he’ll be in this class from now on.” So that’s where he was from. One question down, a million more to go.
Wait! Why was I so interested in him? I couldn’t be. I was just telling myself earlier about how I couldn’t get a boyfriend. But then again I don’t really know if he’s interested in me. He probably just feels bad that he tripped me, but maybe he does like me. I shook my head. I couldn’t like Grant! I couldn’t! Not now.

Persuasive Essay First Draft

“Grrr…” Your stomach just growled and it’s only first period. You think back and realize that you didn’t have breakfast this morning. In fact, you haven’t eaten breakfast this whole term. Your grades are in the toilet and you can’t concentrate in school. What’s going on here? Why am I like this? Everyone has heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but has anybody ever told you why it’s so important? Well, that’s why I’m here! I’m going to tell you why eating breakfast in the morning is so important and I’m also going to tell you that there should be a breakfast period everyday so that each student has breakfast. If every student has breakfast everyday, do you know what that could do? In 1998 a Harvard University/Massachusetts General Hospital study in Philadelphia and Baltimore schools discovered that students who usually ate breakfast had improved grades, reduced hyperactivity, decreased absence and tardy rates, and improved psycho-social behaviors compared to students who rarely at breakfast. So, having a breakfast period could help your grades, make you healthier and help you concentrate better! Now, doesn’t that sound dandy?

School is very important in every student’s life. (Or it definitely should be!) If we have a half hour breakfast period at the beginning of each day it would help each student get better grades. The age group most likely to actually eat breakfast: those over the age of 60. And the age group most likely not to eat breakfast: Ages 12-29. Do you not know what that means? It means that 86% of people over the age of 60 eat breakfast when only 63% of people, ages 12-29, don’t eat breakfast. Your body and your brain are not going to function as good as they could because you have no energy and no strength. When you try to learn something and have nothing in your stomach, you are going to have a lot of trouble succeeding. A lot of people think that they should not eat because they are going to feel tired, but that’s not true. Breakfast doesn’t have to be a very big meal! You’re going to feel tired if you don’t have breakfast because you have spent the entire previous night without food. A lot of people say they don’t have time to eat breakfast before they go to school, and that is where a breakfast period comes in! Once you get to school everyone can have a delicious and nutritious breakfast so that they can start their day on the good side! Eating breakfast will without doubt help your grades!

America is the unhealthiest country in the world! Have you seen how many signs there are for fast food restaurants? With-in ten minutes of my neighborhood there are fifteen fast food restaurants. And you wonder why we’re so unhealthy? We are unhealthy not only because we eat out all the time, we are unhealthy because we skip breakfast!

"Eating breakfast is very important for the brain and the body first thing in the morning", said Los Angeles registered dietitian Gail Frank, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "Breakfast skippers often feel tired, restless or irritable in the morning." In March of 2008, a study from the University of Minnesota indicated that teens who skip breakfast are more likely to become obese than those who routinely eat breakfast. Also in March of 2008, researchers at the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health found that teenagers who eat breakfast regularly tend to consume an overall healthier diet and are more physically active than breakfast skippers that are the same age. Breakfast eaters tended to gain less weight over time. If you don’t eat you will get sick! Now, who likes being sick?

Take a look around you. How many people are actually concentrating during class? I bet most of them don’t even know what the teacher just barely said. Eating breakfast will help your memory, which will help you remember what you learn in class, which will help you concentrate! You don’t only concentrate during school; you also concentrate in your home, in church meetings and in everyday life! You should want to concentrate so you actually understand everything that is happening around you!

You have to realize that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and you cannot skip it without consequences for your health, your school and your defense mechanism. It’s time for you to do something for your health, and eating breakfast is the best way to start your day! So why should we have a breakfast period? Here’s why: In November of 2007, a study by the National Food Service Management Institute’s Applied Research Division at the University of Southern Mississippi found distributing breakfast in the classroom increases consumption, decreases disciplinary problems and increases the focus on academics. The USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion found that children who eat school breakfast eat more fruits, drink more milk and consume less saturated fat than those who don’t eat breakfast! Also, American Journal of Public Health detailed a Canadian Institute for Health study indicating schools with healthy living programs – which include morning nutrition services – have lower rates of overweight and obese students. Doesn’t that just prove that it’s a good idea?

Nightmare at Fairfield!

Take a trip back to your seventh grade year. Ninth graders seemed so gigantic and powerful. You envied them, wishing they admired you. Suddenly, you’re a freshman, all the envy is gone and is replaced by cockiness. You are in charge now; everybody looks up to you because you’re the best. Then you realize you’re wrong. All your pride washes away. Being queen of the school isn’t as great as it had appeared the last two years. As a freshman the teachers suddenly expect you to do homework, there is responsibility with leadership, and there are no ninth graders to look up to.
Until now getting A’s was easy. Now there is a lot of homework and it’s hard to ace tests. Teachers expect you to do your homework and study! Staying a straight ‘A’ student is getting harder than ever. In order to actually get your ‘A’ you must study and do your homework, which if I’m not mistaken is pretty hard for an average ninth grader. Staying on top on things in school takes a lot of commitment. Are you ready for that big responsibility?
Leader? A word that had never applied to me, until now. Seventh and eighth graders watch what I do and how I act. I want to be a good example. I remember watching the ninth graders when I was a sevie. (Sevie, a term used by ninth graders to call seventh graders, making them feel insecure and not important.) And now, all the little, immature seventh graders are watching me with big eyes waiting for me to mess up or even to just notice them. You laugh at them, taunting and teasing them every second you get, but do you remember what it was like? Does that make you want to stop that rude behavior and treat them with respect? Well, you should. Now that I’m a leader of our school it has become very clear that what we do is very important, not only for ourselves but for the little souls watching our every movement. So, being a good leader is important because someday, those tiny seventh graders are going to be in your shoes, doing exactly what you taught them. Don’t treat them badly!
Alone, a word that most teenagers are familiar with. Loneliness can be its greatest when you’re at the top. Everyone’s looking up at you, and you don’t have anyone to look up to. You’re the oldest of the school. Back when you were a sevie it sounded pretty nice, huh? But now that you’re actually here, does it kind of scare you? It should! Because now you are the one that everyone looks up to. You are the one that teachers will use as examples!
So you see, there is something wrong! The ninth graders are gone, you’re a leader of the school, and the teachers expect you to do your homework. Isn’t it crazy what three short years, from being a seventh grader to a ninth grader, will do? Don’t let your freshman year be a nightmare!

Dr. Martin Luther King Essay

How do I believe that Dr. King’s vision impacted President Obama’s message to American students? I believe that his vision opened our President’s eyes and gave him ideas on what he needed to say to us. What did it teach me about my personal responsibility as an American School Aged Student? It taught me a lot about my responsibility as an American and just as a school student. President Obama said that we are the future. What does that mean to you? To me it means that what we do nowadays will determine what we are in the future. And what we are in the future will determine what our country will be like. Dr. King’s vision impacted my life, as it should have yours. I’m going to share with you my thought on his speech.
Dr. King said, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” That means that not one person is of lesser value. You compare any two people in this country, which is more valuable? Neither. Does that surprise you? All men are created equal. If you go to New York and look as the streets, what do you notice? There are people from every race walking in and out of the most high-paying buildings. Everybody has a chance to do anything.
Dr. King also said, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character.” There are still people living here that won’t have anything to do with people from a different race. It breaks my heart to know that people are racists. There isn’t a difference between us! God created us equal. But most of this nation isn’t against people from different races and that’s what our whole world should be like.
Dr. King said, “I have a dream…where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.” Take a look around! Families who can’t have children of their own are adopting babies both black and white. They are families who don’t care what color of skin you have. Schools have a mix of kids, black and white and those kids are becoming best friends. When people say that blacks and whites don’t mix, they are blind!
When I grow up I want to make an impact like Dr. King did. This nation is growing in so many ways and someday when I have the chance I will share with the world what I think. I’m glad that we have Obama as President. He’s a great example to all mankind and we should all grow and strive to be more like him. My dream is that someday our country will have no racism.

Extra Credit: Jason and the Argonauts-Search for the Golden Fleece

Jason and the Argonauts: Search for the Golden Fleece! What do you think of when you here that? Do you think, “Oh my gosh! A guy named Jason is going to the end of the world to get a retarded piece of fabric!” Or do you think, “Wow! Jason is hero for sacrificing everything to go to the end of the world to get the Golden Fleece and take back his kingdom!” Which sounds like a better story? I think that the second option would be best. The movie, Jason and the Argonauts is very different from the actual myth about the search for the Golden Fleece. There are three main parts in the movie that differ greatly from the myth. First, the beginning is not right. Second, King Pelias didn’t meet Jason in the right way. And third, when Jason actually gets to the Golden Fleece he doesn’t get it the same way.
In the movie, which was made in 1963, King Pelias kills Jason’s father, King Iolcus, and Jason and his mother escape to a statue of Hera. There his mother prays to protect him and if it be her will to protect her also. King Pelias see’s what she is doing and slays his mother. But by the time he gets to Jason, who is still an infant, it is too late. Hera had already placed her protection over Jason and if he were to destroy Jason, he would only destroy himself. But really, in the myth, Pelias was King Iolcus’s uncle who took over his throne. Now, King Pelias, lived in fear of losing what he had taken so unfairly. He had Jason’s father in prison. He would have killed Jason but his mother cried as if he had already died, tricking him into thinking that he wouldn’t have to kill him. In the meantime Jason was carried off into the wilderness. As you can see, they differ exceedingly. King Pelias didn’t kill King Iolcus and Hera didn’t stop him from killing baby Jason.
In the myth, Hera then wanted to help Jason. So for his first test, she disguised herself as an elderly woman. They met on the shore and Jason, being a big man, new that she wanted help over the river. Without hesitation he took the old woman on his back and started to carry her into the current. At the other shore, Hera revealed herself to him and was very pleased. On his journey through the water, Jason lost a sandal so he was a one-sandaled man. In the movie, Pelias was warned that in twenty years he would come upon a man with only one sandal and that man would be Jason. The king waited twenty years and one day while riding his horse along the shore. He was dragged into the water by Hera, who was again disguised. Jason ran into the water and saved Pelias. During the struggle Jason lost a sandal, so now Pelias had met Jason. So apparently, these are two very different versions of the story. Hera didn’t drag King Pelias into the water and try to kill him, which caused Jason to lose his sandal. Jason lost his sandal by completing a task Hera had made for him.
In the movie, Medea goes with Jason to the end of the earth to find the Golden Fleece. In broad daylight the dragon protected the Golden Fleece. Jason killed the monster with his sword and has to quickly get the Fleece and move, because another army was on their way to take the Golden Fleece with them. The army gets there and there isn’t any Fleece on the tree. They assume that the dead creature had eaten it, so they burn it and search for the Fleece, which is not there. Jason had already taken the Fleece and fled. But actually, in the myth Medea, who was under the spell of the Goddess of Love, took Jason to the temple grove, which was where the Golden Fleece was displayed, in the middle of the night. The Fleece was nailed to a tree, which was guarded by a huge dragon. Jason pulled out his sword to kill the beast, but Medea, took out her sleeping potion and the dragon fell asleep. Together they took the fleece and made their way back to the Argo. So, it sounds like the movie is a wee bit off! There was never another army after the Fleece and Jason didn’t actually kill the dragon.
I’m not going to lie, this movie was pretty good. But, I’m a weirdo that way and I like a lot of weird movies. My point is, every movie can never be right on with the actual story, if it is being based on a book, myth, or even a real life story! In this case, the movie, Jason and the Argonauts was in a lot of ways different from the myth of the quest for the Golden Fleece. The beginning was off, how Pelias and Jason met was off and, of course, when Jason actually gets the Fleece, it was still off. But besides those reasons the movie did a great job in showing the hero’s quest for the Golden Fleece!

Speaking German

For those of you who don't know, I am fluent in German. German actually is my first language. My mother to this day still only speaks to me in German. She got her degree in teaching German at Brigham Young University. She also lived in Germany for a little while. I think it is great that I am bilingual. I think it is awesome for three reasons. One, I can speak German to my mother when friends are over. Two, when we travel to Germany I can speak to people there. And three, it makes me unique.
When I was in first grade, I thought it was really embarrassing to talk to my mom in German, so I made a deal with her. When friends were over I didn't have to talk in German, but when we were alone together, I would have to. Well, that did not last long. Nowadays I hardly ever speak to my mother in German, which kind of makes her sad. But, I just never remember to speak in German unless I want to say something to her that I do not want my friends to hear, which happens quite often. All my friends think that it is so cool that I can speak German and they all want me to teach it to them, but I do not want to teach them because if I want to tell my mom something, they might be able to understand. And that could be bad in some cases. But I agree with my friends, it is cool that I can speak it!
I have been to Germany twice. Each time I was there for about a month. The German culture is so interesting. Germany is probably my favorite place on this earth. Every time we have been there is always a big thunderstorm, which is amazing to see. They are really dangerous there but standing in the middle of the road, hot from the humidity, and dripping wet from the rain is absolutely my favorite part about being there. When you are there, you get to meet new people from all over Europe and you get to travel to castles and small, remote villages and try wonderful, yummy food! It is so fun to just watch everything go on around you! People speaking in different languages, kids running everywhere, it truly is a great place to be!My mother always tells me to be me. I have not ever really understood what that meant until recently. Unique: having no like or equal. Being unique means that you are not afraid of what you do, how you act, what you wear, how you are like. I admit it, I am unique. I speak German for my first language, I can eat more than any boy I know, I wear footie pajamas and I am crazy! And I really do not care what people think because what matters is what I think. And I think that being able to speak another language is pretty dang sweet!
So, I speak German fluently. I have spoken it since I was born. I love traveling to Germany and I am unique! I love being bilingual!