The Day Millicent Found the World

This is the story of a girl going into the woods and losing her path back. Two things came to my mind when I read this story. One is the realization that we all have to step out into the real world and the other is when people say they have done too many things wrong for God to accept them.
Millicent almost seems afraid to go far enough on her own without losing sight of where she came from. This makes me think of college and what it is going to feel like when we leave to go to College wherever that may be. We are going to have to learn to step out or our comfort zone and take on the world. I do not know anything other than Mount Juliet Christian Academy and it is going to be weird attending a different school and getting familiar with the world around me. However, I feel that by this time next year, I will be ready to take on the world.
The other part of this story made me think of when people say that they have messed up too many times or gone in the wrong direction with their life for God to be able to accept them or allow them into His Kingdom. They are wrong. God forgives everyone who repents and it is our responsibility to carry out what we asked forgiveness for. If we are truly sorry for what we have done, then we will try our best to make sure that we do not continue to make the same mistake over and over. God is a loving and gracious God, but we must also do our part is showing God that we truly care about the decisions that we make each and every day.


T.J. Roberts

My Raging Battle

I slowly walk up, trying to choose this time which I will decide. I know my favorite and part of me wants to stick to this conservative choice. But my more adventerous side urges me to be bold, daring, and to choose a different option. The battle rages inside of me as I try to sift through all of my different options that are set in front of me. What if the new isn't as good as the old? I mean, I really like the old: it is my favorite. One side begins to dominate over the other in my mind. Finally, after a few brief moments of agonizing debate in my mind, I make up my mind. I boldly approach and then say firmly, with resolution and certainty, "One grande low-fat peppermint mocha frappuccino, please".

-Ashley Reed

Faking It

Sometimes in life I lose myself. I forget who I am and who I want to be, and I fall in step with someone else. It’s hard to come back once you’ve lost yourself like I have. It’s like taking an individual, one-of-a kind being and forcing it into a mold, re-shaping it against its will . . . filling the world with cookie-cutter people who are all alike. Once the cookie-cutter has shaped you, it’s a hard thing to undo.

Aren’t we all letting society shape us into what it wants us to be? Everyday we let the new trends and styles take a little away from us and add on the “correct” pieces. It’s like we are all machines being upgraded to fit the new standard. I don’t want to be a copy of what is popular. I don’t want to act and look like everyone else out there. I don’t want to be the “rip-off” of someone else.

What happened to individuality? What happened to true passion and belief? Or am I wrong? Has there never really been individuality? Has it always been these groups of the same people hoarding together? Is this kind of mentality part of human nature? I don’t know, I’m asking questions that no one knows the answer too. I wish we really were ourselves. I wish we could all stop faking.

-Kaitlynn

Perfectly in the Middle

Nobody says it better than Taylor Swift does in her song called A Place in the World: “I don’t know what I want, So don’t ask me, cause I’m still trying to figure it out. Don't know what's down this road, I’m just walking. Trying to see through the rain coming down. Even though I’m not the only one, that feels the way I do.” That’s where most of us our in our lives right now. We are perfectly in the middle of everything. We’re not quite old enough to be on our own, but not quite young enough to need parental supervision 24/7. We have to think more like adults every day even though we are all still children at heart. We have to make decisions each day that could possibly affect the rest of your life. We as teenagers have so much pressure on us and so many things to do and think, and it all seems to happen so fast. Sometimes I feel like my head is exploding, and I wish I could just take a break from everything, but we can’t.

I remember when I was a little kid thought 2011 seems so far away and now it’s only next year. It’s crazy to think that I’ll be a senior next year, and I’m very scared about it. I don’t even know for sure what college I want to go to or anything, but I only have a year and a half left of high school! I just wish I could skip the in between of childhood and adulthood; I don’t like being here in the middle. I don’t want to be blinded anymore, I want to find my place in this world.

-Tori

The Visit. (based on "Spring and All")

Today is May 30th. I decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood. I was fifteen minutes into my walk when I saw this man coming towards me. He was tall, a little overweight and looking straight at me. As I walked by him, he stopped walking and faced me. I, however, looked at him for a second, then continued. Two steps later, I stopped. I have no idea what my face looked like. Probably scared. Shocked. Angry.
It was my father.
I had thought of this moment on some occasions. Would I be angry that he was alive and that he left us? All those tears I shed for nothing? Or would I be happy that he was alive? Would I go up to him and hug him and say, "Why did you leave?" and hold no anger towards him?
"Hola, mi hijita. Soy to padre."
I ran to him and hugged him tightly, tears streaming down my face.
"Oh,papi! You're alive!"
"Si, hija. But only for just awhile."
I looked up at him and smiled. I took his hand and we walked.
"Papi, things are really difficult here, without you."
"Yes. I know. But it was meant to be like this."
"Mami gave me your bracelet; the gold one. And I lost it. I'm really sorry." I began to cry really hard. "I didn't even know it was gone until New Years Eve, and I don't remember anything that I did that week so I have no idea where it's at. I'm so sorry."
My father gave me a hug.
"Don't cry, hija. It's just a bracelet. You don't need to cry over the material things. It's what's in your heart that matters."
"I know. But still, I lost it, and I was really depressed for two days. Then I woke up and realized that it was gone and I was calm."
"Yes, I know. I was the one that made you feel peace."
"You did? How? You've been alive."
My father didn't reply. We slowly walked. He asked me questions, and I asked him questions. We were soon approaching the house.
"Tell your mother I love her very much, will you?"
"Why can't you tell her?"
"Because I have to leave," he said solemnly.
"WHY?!"
"Because I was only given a certain amount of time to be back on Earth."
"What?"
"Hija, I am dead. I'm not alive. And I must go now."
I gave him a hug and wept loudly. I felt my heart ripping into shreds.
"Please don't go,papi. I need you."
"I know. But my place is not here on Earth."
I looked up to him and whispered, "Te amo."
He looked back at me, tears welling in his eyes. He smiled. "Te amo, tambien."
I could see him slowly fading.
"Feliz cumpleanos, papi."


-Hannah G.

Alone

At one point in our lives we feel alone. We feel we have not been treated fairly as others do, we do not see things as others do, and we are completely different than everybody else around us. This state of mind causes a terrible feeling of depression, a feeling of worthlessness. The question then arises in our heads, what is the point of waking up today? Is today not going to be different than any other day? Will i not be treated the same, or feel the same about everything? The author Edgar Allan Poe of the poem "Alone", suffers from this mindset. As well as Poe, many other people today share the same feeling with him. Whether it be in school, or work, or anywhere else, people everywhere feel this way about their lives. Some people try to hide this feeling, yet there is no hiding it; it is shown through their acts and words.
In my opinion good or bad is based on your judgment of the situation. You can either look at it good, or you can look at it bad. The cure to depression is the positive mindset of the world around you. Thinking of good things, instead of the bad things, keeps your mind free of the thoughts of being alone, or left out. Being depressed, I believe, is something that you can help. It is not a sickness that you can't do anything about, it is a way you feel about things. They way you look at things will determine what kind of day you will have, or how school will go, or how work will go. If you look at all the things bad, you are blinded and unable to see all the things that are good in your life. It is truly harder to find the good in things rather than the bad, this is just the nature of people, but having a positive view of the world around you will change your day and the way you look at things. Finding the good things in every situation will keep you from feeling alone, or left out.

- Cody

My First Cat

Back in the days when goldfish were the only form of pet I knew, I was content to spend my days staring into a fishbowl, coming back every hour on the hour to feed the fish, lest it go hungry. I don’t remember the day that I realized there were bigger and better things in this world… the day that I discovered cats. But once I got the idea in my head, I didn’t let my parents forget it for one minute. One morning in particular, I woke up determined it would be the day I would get my new pet. For a complete ten minutes on the way to church, I whined and begged and pleaded from the backseat for a cat.

“Please, Daddy, PLEASE. You don’t understand. I neeeeeeeeeed a cat. PLEASE, Daddy. We HAVE to get a cat. But I am your ONLY kid. I am your little girl. I want a cat. I NEED IT DADDY!”

Though he tried to remain firm and in charge, I could feel him giving in as I wrapped myself tighter and tighter around his little finger. Exasperated, he said, “Fine. If you want a cat that bad, pray for it. If God wants you to have a cat, you will get a cat.” Excitedly, I assumed this meant that if I prayed for a cat in Sunday school then we would go to the pet store the next day. Well that didn’t exactly happen, but I sure wasn’t expecting what came next.

One bright sunny morning just three days later, I walked outside, ready to leave for Mrs. Brenda’s daycare. I opened the car door and out from under it crawled a limping, but otherwise healthy, white, thick haired cat. It was beautiful and I could not believe my eyes. I’d never been so close to a real live cat before, just seen them on Aristocats and heard the stories my friends had told me. I bent down and extended my hand towards it and bravely it let me pet it for a long time. When my dad came out and saw the cat, he looked a little surprised, but then again not really. I always thought him and God might have also had a talk in Sunday school.

Over the next week, the cat continued to come back. Every day, I would pet him, brush him with my baby doll brushes, and give him milk in a bowl and any extra food my four year old hands could come across. And every night I would pray that he would be there again when I woke up. I also would consistently ask my dad if we could keep him, to which he always replied, “Maybe if he stays a couple more days. We don’t know who he belongs to, but he’s not ours.”

After several more days, I was thoroughly convinced that the cat was not leaving. And much to my father’s dismay, I could tell he was too. So one morning, for the millionth time I asked if we could keep the cat, and for the first time my dad said, “Yes.” I named him Colby, after the cute boy who sat across from me at snack time.

-Katy

Yeah! I'm Adopted!!

Well everyone here knows my name; it’s Kellie! I was born in Missouri and was soon taken home to Tennessee. My birth mother is one of the strongest people I know. She was 17 years old when she got pregnant with me. I’m sure this came as a shock to her. She knew she was not ready to be a mom and my birth father was not ready to become a father of two children. Her whole family was against her choice of putting me up for adoption, but she knew it was her best option. I am so very lucky that she chose to put me into the arms of a loving family with both a mother and a father. I can’t imagine being faced with the choice to give up one of your own or to tough it out and hope you make it okay without a husband.

Adoption is not a bad thing! The way I look at it is I am loved by two families now. Throughout my life, they have all written me letters and made sure I knew that they still love me. My birth mother is now married to a youth pastor with three children of their own, and my birth father is happy with his family and children as well. I can’t wait to see them all when I turn 21. It’s kind of weird because they are complete strangers, but they also had me … I don’t know it’s weird to me.

Because of my story I will always say that abortion is wrong no matter what. There are families out there who want children but can’t have them, and I am full proof of that.

Kellie

Resolution for 2010... What are yours?

It seems people every year try to make New Years’ resolutions that they intend to keep. While it is a goal for the resolution to be kept, 99.9% of the time, it does not happen. When I think about all the different kinds of resolutions, all I can think about is people trying to find ways to improve their character or appearance. People try to stop smoking. People try to stop drinking sodas, and my favorite is to lose weight. Most people are never happy with the way they look or feel. This results in those common resolutions to benefit ourselves. All of these resolutions can be very important, and I give credit to every single person who keeps their resolution, but at the same time, it is also good to do more for others rather than yourself.
My question is why aren’t people making a resolution to help others. There are so many things we could do to help. We can help feed the homeless; visit those in the hospital, whether it be young or old. Just a single visit can help people have a better day. We can give to those that are less fortunate. Send money to countries that are in distress (Haiti), etc. These are only just a few ways to help others, rather than yourself. I think a good resolution for me is not only to be a better Christian, but to look for opportunities that benefit others and help boost my self esteem at the same time.
So this year, make a new kind of resolution. Make a resolution that pulls you out of your comfort zone and tests your faith. Be different and change someone’s life.

-Kenzie

War on the Horizon

Before World War II began, German leader, Adolf Hitler, had a vision of one major German empire that covered all of Europe. Hitler began pursuing his dream on September 1, 1939 when he invaded Poland and started the war. Two days later, Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany. On April 9, 1940, German forces invaded Norway and Denmark. By May 10, Germany had begun invading the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. All three, along with France and the United States, had taken a neutral stance in the war. On June 10, 1940, Italy joined the war, allied with Germany.

The United States involvement, up until Pearl Harbor, had been solely neutral. America did not have the desire to join in the affairs of the Eastern Hemisphere. Content to sit back and watch, America never dreamed on the tragedy that was lurking in the future, waiting to pull her into the war. On December 7, 1941, AN American base in Hawaii was bombed by Japan, killing thousands and wounding thousands more. As a result, President Roosevelt declared war on the Axis Countries.
As I sit and think about World War II, and Pearl Harbor, and the effects they had on our country, I can’t help but think about the war waging in my own family. As armies invade on my quiet little country and things begin to fall apart, I realize that my time to enter this war is drawing near. I can no longer remain neutral in the battle. But when? When will I be pulled in? What will be my Pearl Harbor?

-Holly

The Land of Garcia!

I thought that you should know what is going to happen in the future because this may affect you. I don't know if you've heard, but I'm taking over the country, and you can't stop me. It will be called the Land of Garcia! (exclamation point included) The national land animal is the bear, because "Garcia" means "bear." The national bird is the flamingo; the national flower is the Venus flytrap. The national tree is the banana tree, and the national colors are purple and creme. (You may not like the colors, but you can get over it, because there is no flag known to man that is either purple or creme, and my country is going to be unique.)
The Land of Garcia! has many sports; like ice skating, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, swimming, and tennis. There is absolutely no golf, because it's boring and I don't understand it.
Education is important. You can't graduate from high school unless you take all core classes along with mixed martial arts classes and cooking classes. Gym is required every every year in every school. For college, scholarships and financial aid is available.
For every country there has to be laws, and my country is no exception. There aren't that many. You've heard that people who go to jail just have a happy time watching television and sitting around playing cards or whatever. In the Land of Garcia!, if you go to jail, you only get three meals a day, and if you have good behavior, you're permitted to go outside for three hours. That's it; no television or whatever it is they do jail. If you have killed someone, you will be killed the same way. Homosexuality is not tolerated. Abortion is illegal. If found out, you will be kicked out. Ridiculous laws, like the laws mentioned in Mr. Turner's government class, will not be passed. Men who weigh more than 400 pounds and women who weigh more than 200 pounds will be forced to lose weight. My country will be healthy. There is no work on Sunday. No divorce is allowed unless there is abuse or infidelity. Single parents will receive financial help, but to qualify for this, they must have a job.
There's only one leader with two others in command. The current leader appoints a worthy person with a clear mind that will not become too ambitious, and want to annihilate the Land of Garcia! If this ever occurs, there are hidden assassins and spies in place from around the world who will exterminate the leader, and then the people will get a chance to vote on who the next leader will be.
I don't know about you, but I like my future country. You may like it as well, or maybe you think it's horrible and gruesome, whatever. If you don't like it, you can leave.


-Hannah G.

Am I Truly Thankful?

Every year, we gather around a table with friends and family and enjoy a large lunch or dinner. We talk about what we are thankful for for ten minutes at most. When we are done, we eat and talk about what happened to each of us since the last time we saw one another. We laugh together around a table in fellowship for a few hours. However, we unfortunately go our separate ways at the end of the day.
Every year, I promise myself that I will keep up with Rian, my step-cousin, and every year, I fail at just that. I have to ask myself, how can I be truly thankful for my family if I don't even keep up with them? Today has been a great day with my family and friends, but I don't want that fun time to be a rarity.
In the same way, every day, I promise myself that I will become closer in my walk with God, and every day, I fail at just that. If I am to be truly honest with myself, I must ask myself, how can I be truly thankful for a God who gave up his son for me if I do not take the time to talk to Him? I want to want to take time, but I find myself living down to the expectations of many other people. I am then daily disappointed in myself.
However, I learned durring Horton Haven that we cannot be challenged, but rather that we must be changed. This year, I will strive to show my thankfulness to God by coming to Him with a sincere heart of thanksgiving, praising Him for everything that He has done for me. Only then can I show even part of my thanks to Him for his providncial grace.

- Ashley Reed

Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving! Yeah, I have the blog while we are out of school. Since it is Thanksgiving break, I’m going to say the things I’m thankful for and hopefully help you all get into the attitude of this holiday. I know we are all excited about not going to school and getting to eat lots of great food, but I don’t think we can forget what it’s all about.

Starting off, I am of course thankful for having Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. My life would be a train wreck without Him, and I am eternally thankful (pun definitely intended). My family and friends are next on my list; they are a big part of my life and I love them so much.

I am also thankful that I get to attend MJCA, even though some people would say differently. My parents pay money for me to get a better education, and I don’t want to take that for granted. I have to throw the troops in there as well, how could I not be thankful to men and women who put their lives on the line for our country? That statement leads me to the fact that I live in a free country, and that is a big deal.

Since I don’t have any life destroying illnesses and I have all of my limbs, I also get to be thankful for that. There are so many things in my life that I get to be thankful for and I hate it that we usually only pay attention to them once a year. I want to start being thankful everyday, and not just on the day we devour large amounts of food while watching football. Well, hope that got you ready for the day known as Thanksgiving, Turkey day, or whatever you want to call it. Have a good one!

-Kaitlynn

Outwitted

Reading this short section of poetry reminded me to love my enemies. The author speaks of being shut out, but then with love, he let who shut him out in. Naturally we who are left out or shut out want to get revenge, and this is human nature, though the best cure for hate in most all cases is love. The author was shut out, but he forgave and loved his enemy. If this were the mindset of all of us there would be much less violence in the world and less enemies for everybody.
We all have a desire to get back at someone who treated us unjustly. Often it never even crosses our minds to forgive them and love them and forget about what they did. Revenge is the best answer for us, and it causes mischief and harm to both us and the person who treated us unfairly. If we would just forgive and forget about what our enemies did to us, the world would be a better place.
The best cure for hate is love. If we love our enemies, it teaches us not to be mad at them despite the things they may do to make us angry. The author in this poem outwits his enemy and instead of hating him back or trying to get revenge, he shows him love and neither one of them are harmed by the other. And a great reason for loving our enemies is because God tells us to love our enemies. Love is the best thing to use against hate.
If everybody had the heart and desire to love their enemy like we are supposed to, there would be a lot less violence in the world. When we hate our enemies, it shows how less of a person we are when we try to get back at them, and the hate continues between us and may not ever end. Hate is truly a harmful and dangerous thing and can only be resolved by loving our enemies. Yet before we love we must also forgive. If we do not forgive our enemies for wronging us, why should they forgive us if we have ever wronged them. We should all love our enemies.

-Cody

The Crashing Waves

The girl stood there, in the middle of the ocean. Everything was going great. it seemed as if nothing could go wrong. The girl had everything going for. At least that's what she thought. But while she stood there, in the middle of the ocean, wave after wave came crashing down. The waves were coming down so hard she could barely stand to her feet. She stood there wondering what had she done wrong? Why had everything seemed so perfect, and now everything was falling apart. The girl started turning to things that made her feel as if she was rising above those crashing waves, but all they were really doing was pulling her down more. It seemed to her that she was losing everything. She had lost her friends, her grades were slipping, she couldn't find a guy, her family was falling apart, and her heart just felt so broken. Every time she thought she had found someone to help, they just broke her heart even more. She felt like she couldn't depend on anyone, and she started to drown. She slowly stood there watching her life fall apart, wondering why those waves had come crashing down upon her. Why did she deserve to have such a horrible life? Why didn't this happen to someone deserving? She felt alone in the world, as if no one was there. Tears finally began to fall from her eyes and dropped into the ocean. Her tears disappeared just as she was too. But then, out of nowhere came and voice saying, "you're not alone" and immediately after the voice, the ocean was calm. The girl could then stand on her feet again, and she realized what she had been missing all alone.

2009-2010 Basketball Season by T.J. Roberts

For me, this year is going to be something special. I am so excited to actually get this year’s show on the road. There has been a lot of talk on whether or not we will be good and honestly, I think so. We are in a new district this year so we are playing totally different teams. This year should be full of exciting moments and games.
I am most excited about this season because I have never been on this type of team before. This is the smallest team I have ever been on. However, this team has more heart and is the fastest team I have ever been on. We are a run and gun kind of team. We are going to be up in people’s faces on defensive and running the court on offense. When you really sit and think about it, it is like a new start. None of the teams we play this year know anything about us and we do not know anything about them. We have a great opportunity to establish who we are as a team in this district. The past is the past and it is time to start over fresh.
The atmosphere of this year’s practice is unbelievable. I think this is where the heart and desire to win comes in. The only time that our gym is quiet is when Coach is talking. At all other times, we are loud and constantly encouraging each other. That is how a gym is supposed to be. Coach Culter always says a quiet gym is a loser’s gym and I think this is the first team to actually buy into and believe this, because it is very true. We need to practice communicating with each other like we are taught to do on the court. I am very excited about our first game, November 17th. (MJCA vs. PLEASANT VIEW CHRISTIAN) I would encourage everyone to come out and make our gym even louder.

Curiosity

As I stood amidst the crowd, thousands of bodies moving together in one quick and organized pace, people brushing against each other, some lost and confused, others determined to reach their destination, I took in the hushed roar of a thousand different voices that filled the giant arena with a white noise of a thousand different conversations. I wondered what it would sound like if the entire world had been present, crammed into every square inch of the place, all of their voices dancing off the walls and ceilings like fireflies stuck in a mason jar. I wondered what it would be like to specifically hear the voice of each person, to make sense of every word that floated off their lips. I wondered if this is what God hears when we pray...

When I pray, I always think of having a conversation with God. I like to imagine that we're talking face to face about whatever we feel like, chillin' out just like best friends do. I can't physically hear Him, but He answers me, nonetheless. I know God is listening, but can He really hear me? I wonder if God has physical senses. Does God have ears? Sometimes I like to think that God is up in Heaven with a giant plasma featuring all of our faces as if we were Skyping Him or something. I wonder how it feels to have the whole world constantly talking to you, expecting you to hear each word and provide an adequate response. That seems like an awfully big responsibility. It's too complex of a matter for my measly, human mind to understand, of course, but I still wonder. I'm grateful that I worship a God that is so amazing that He actually takes the time to listen not just to every word I say, but also every thought and feeling I possess. And more than that, He does answer me with exactly what I need to hear every time.

-Katy

More than just an outsider

There will always be the jocks, the cheerleaders, the popular crowd, the nerds, and then them…… the outsiders. To them, no matter what they do, it’s never good enough for others to like them. They have to join forces with other outsiders and become friends with them.
To be on the outside is even more common in cliques. To the typical “outsider,” the people in the cliques are perfect. Take one look into to lives of the popular crowd or the cheerleaders. It isn’t all perfect. Someone in the popular crowd never meets the standards of the others. Same goes for cheerleaders. Cheerleaders always feel they have to strive to be the prettiest, because they are being looked upon all the time and being judged. There is always going to be someone who likes different music than you do or different clothes. Just because it’s not what you wear, it doesn’t make them any less important than you.
There are going to be outsiders in every group. They either don’t have the right looks or they like something the popular crowd doesn’t. An outsider can even be someone that is liked, but isn’t let in to all the details and is probably talked about behind his/her back. While it seems to the outside horrible not to be liked, in reality the outsiders are the ones that stand out. They are the ones that once people see who they really are, they will get to know them. People will eventually see the “insiders” for who they are and pick the “outsiders” over them.
-Kenzie

The Untypical Date

The rules of dating are easy right? Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, and boy gets up enough courage to ask girl out, chickens out a couple times, then some how squeaks out the question, "So um, you like movies?" And the girl answers, " Umm yea I think everyone does." Boy tries to decipher the "hidden" meaning behind this when really the girl is just thinking, Aw maybe he’s not stable! Should I speak slowly for him? Then of course the girl thinks this is "adorable" a word a boy NEVER wants to hear from a girl. What boy in his right mind wants to be adorable? But he goes along with it because he knows what is coming next the smile and the " Umm yea I would love to go to the movies So the boy and girl go on this so called " date" to the movies to see a movie that probably only the girl is interested in. So your in line and the boy looks at the girl and says, "Wow, you look really pretty tonight" (thinking this will make her night and win her over completely), but she says, " Really? Because I feel so yuck right now." Well that poor` boy, that defenseless boy is left wondering, "What? You do? What does that mean? Does she really feel ugly or is this a trick, is her dad hiding somewhere, will he jump me if I tell her she looks good in that shirt?" So they buy their tickets and walk inside, the boy thinking no girl eats in front of guys asks the fatal question of " Would you like anything for the concessions stand?" And that dumb poor boy gets the only girl that can win a pie-eating contest in 10 seconds flat. " Well since you asked, I would love some cotton candy, and some chocolate maybe with some crunchy things in it, and a slurpy but not too cold because I’ll get a brain freeze, oh and a diet coke." And of course how can the stunned boy doing anything but nod his head and say, " Yea sure anything you want."

So he waits and gets up there and there’s no cotton candy but there is cotton candy flavored candy and no diet coke but diet Pepsi and this of course means nothing to the guy its basically the same thing … right? So he goes to find his date, this is a mission that no boy can come back alive from. Everyone looks the same, he can’t remember what she is wearing, and he is getting the evil eye from the couple he is standing in front of. Then like a life vest she stands up and waves him over. Smiling, feeling so proud he got this food for her he hands her the food. What happens next is something that shouldn’t but does shock him. She says, " Aw this looks so good but I ate a tic tac and I’m so full but thanks, it’s the thought that counts." The cloud of disbelief sets in around the boy and takes his seat and waits for the movie to begin. But he hears something not even ten minutes into the movie. It’s her! She is talking to him without him even knowing. He doesn’t even have to slightest notion about what she could be saying so he just nods his head. These thoughts run through his head "what is she saying? Am I supposed to read her lips? Its dark how in the world could I do that? What is that in her teeth." He can’t believe the lungs on this girl, she must be a world champion talker; they have to give award for this kind of lung capacity. And all too quickly the movie ends, and she is still talking about the movie, and he realizes he has no idea what he even seen. The car ride is unbelievable, the talking is still coming, what could there be left to talk about? Finally he pulls up to her house, and he delivers the universal line that everyone should know as this is NOT working, " Well, so and so, I had a really great time tonight. I’ll call you to do it again sometime." As he drives away, the only thing he can remember is never to ask a girl if she likes a movie again.

-Hannah Smith

Defining the Grateful Gesture

The poem “Defining the Grateful Gesture” made me realize how ungrateful I really am. Every day I complain about the food prepared for lunch as if it isn’t edible; I wake up every morning dreading the rest of the day at school, and I think of another excuse to get me out of football practice. Not once all day do I think about how good my life actually is, or how lucky I am to afford a lunch and tuition at a private school were I can play any sport that I want.
It is hard for me to believe that I can complain about the type of food that they are serving at lunch when not twenty miles from our school there are thousands of homeless people waiting in an endless line outside of the Nashville Rescue Mission for their only meal of the day. I wake up every morning in a bed in a house that I never once think how grateful I am to have. The problem with people who have a decent life is that they don’t know how great their life is until everything is taken away from them.
One problem I have is that I am ungrateful about my education. I dread coming to school. It is not fair when my parents work every day to better my education by paying my tuition and all I do is the bare minimum just to pass so I can drive and hang out with my friends on the weekends. If it weren’t for the privileges that I have, I probably would have thrown my life away. There are many people that don’t even have the privileges of going to school and participating in athletics.
Like the children in the poem, I am undeserving of the life that I live, of the nourishment, the shelter, and even the education that I receive. I have no idea the pain that people have that live in the streets and go to bed hungry, that don’t have the same opportunities that I have to better their lives. I regret the ungrateful feeling that I have; it makes me sick that I don’t thank God every day for allowing me to live this life.

-Devin