Acceptance Letter

            If you don’t already know who I am, that’s a first. I myself know plenty about firsts, being the first man to not only walk on the moon, but swim. Multitasking is second nature for me, I can read, write, and talk simultaneously, while riding a unicycle. I farm potatoes in Antarctica. I’ve even read the entire harry potter series.

            I once climbed Mount Everest in 20 minutes, 19 of which were spent building a snowman at the bottom. Singing is a hobby of mine, in sign language. Growing red lemons is a hobby of mine, and when life gives me lemons; I make apple juice. My slinkies only move up stairs.  I have my own gravitational field, and the earth orbits around me. Monsters parents check under the bed for me. I enjoy lawn bowling on Sunday afternoons.

            I can solve two rubric cubes at the same time, with one hand. Burning my cd’s? Never!   I freeze them. I always stop the microwave before it gets to zero. Cross country skiing down a mountain is a common activity. I don’t wear hardhats on construction sites, even though it’s an extreme safety hazard. Although I’m a world champion chess player, I have yet to attend a college.

Why Didn't I Prepare

            Dead silence; all I hear is the buzzing of the multiple fans on the ceiling, yet it’s still so hot in here. I begin to regret every time I hit snooze to skip class, I knew today would come eventually but I never thought so soon. On my way to my seat I pass by a few girls, so frantically they yell “I didn’t study enough; I need an ‘A’ on this exam.”

They didn’t know the half of it! My teacher, whom I’ve never really met before, makes the exam worth 50% of the class’ final mark. Butterflies in my stomach, not only a cliché but an extreme understatement, I have multiple hummingbirds in my stomach, fluttering their wings at a constant pace. This desk feels so smooth, welcoming me to my seat, although I’m well aware of the mental beating that’s about to take place here. It’s as though not attending class was my crime, and this exam, was my sentence. The seemingly increased gravity in this seat is forcing me to do one thing; look right at the crisp ink on the page that forms questions of no sense to me. I must listen to the intense sounds of nothing at all; at the same time my throat has dried so much so that it’s difficult to swallow. There truly is an extravagant premium for my lack of presence in this class.  

Poetry Assignment

Beethoven – Shane Koyczan

                In "Beethoven" by Shane Koyczan, he tells us about Beethoven, a world famous composer from 1700's and his father’s immense expectations of him. When he was a child Beethoven's father made him play the piano countless hours, “until his fingers cramped up”, Koyczan tells us. It indeed did pay off though because he became arguably the best pianist of all time, undeterred by the fact that he was gradually losing all of his hearing at the age 30. Throughout the whole poem Koyczan alludes to Beethoven and his timeless fame. “Kings, Queens it didn’t matter, the man got on his knees for nobody but amputated the legs of his piano so he could feel the vibrations through the floor; the man got on his knees for music.” This quote, to me is the most powerful part of this poem because it shows that he had too much pride to get down for any living person but to pursue his passion after losing his hearing he did indeed get down “on his knees for music.”

The Road Not Taken – Robert Frost

            In “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, he tells us about a traveler coming to a point where two roads intersect, he sees one was is worn down, and one way is untraveled. The man decides to take the road less traveled, which led to him having to carve his own path, in the end making him a stronger man. This whole poem is an extended metaphor with the two roads symbolizing choices in life, and that it’s okay to have your choices differ from others’. The theme is that individuality is a good thing and people’s choices make them who they are, so if we all took the same “road” there would be no individuality. I like the overall concept of this poem and believe all the unique things we do “has made all the difference.”  

 

This is Just To Say - William Carlos Williams

 

The poem "This is Just To Say" by William Carlos Williams is a short but very interesting poem. Williams takes a very simplistic approach, the sole objects he speaks of are just a few plums, which he indeed did eat. 27 words in this poem, but it speaks many more on its own. The author tells us the plums were "so sweet and so cold." I found this poem interesting because in such few words the author painted such a vivid picture in my mind but also used other senses such as taste and how he felt about eating the plum. The title suggests that there is not much of a point to this poem, perhaps, or maybe the plum represents his feelings.

Dialogue

     "Well you see Mr. Van camp this might be a little cliche, but my dog ate my homework. All of my english homework."

     "Are you kidding me Smedley?" yelled Mr. Van Camp, "If I had a hair for every time I heard that one Smedley I would have a full head of hair!"

     Smedley replied, "but Mr. VC, I'm your favorite student!"

     "Please Smedley, everyone knows I hate all of my students equally." Exclaimed Mr. Van Camp.
   
     "But look," Smedley cried, "this is it. This is my homework, and this giant bite taken out of it was from my dog!"

     "That would be a valid excuse, if I couldn't see some of the paper stuck in your teeth. You took a bite out of your unfinished homework."

     Smedley looked at Mr. Van Camp as tears welled in his eyes, "ok sir, you caught me."

     "Nothing ever gets by me," he whispered to himself as he leaned back in his chair.
        

Bluffing

Bluffing

          In the short story "Bluffing" by Gail Helgason, a man named Liam claims to have gotten mauled by a bear in order to protect his girlfriend. Liam cares for his girlfriend; he even made plans for them to move down south! When they both encountered the bear, Gabriella instructed Liam on what to do, "Try backing off slowly" she yelled. Alas, she heard footsteps and noticed Liam not only took slow steps backwards, but was running away as fast as he could from the bear. As the bear chased him they passed right by Gabriella and kept on going, a heroic move by Liam. When they see each other in the hospital Liam even tells Gabriella that "[He] meant for the bear to come after [himself] instead of [her]", Acknowledging the fact that he would even go as far as risking his life for her safety. Liam is telling the truth when he says he lured the bear away from her, and he has scars to prove it!



Hourglass

 

           

 

 

               Hourglass; making the sand fall faster. It is said that the consumption of an entire cigarette
reduces ones life by 7 minutes. An elderly woman, exchanging the dry relaxation of a cigarette for time she has yet to live. It appears as though she is in a third-world country where stress is imminent, and as we all have habits to cope with our stress, she inhales the ataractic smoke. Her facial expression is emotionless. Each wrinkle represents a painful expierience not worth remembering; but still lingering in her subconsience like that time you called one of your teachers "mom". The lady almost emits this mysterious aura, as though she's seen it all before. The fact that she's wearing make-up suggests she still values her self image, but at the same time her consumption of tabacco suggests she's lacking very much will to live on. Could it be that the people with the most wisdom are the people with the least opportunity to spread it. Maybe everyone is just trying to get the most out of the sand in their hourglass.