Dear Trent,

Sadly I will never see you again, but before I leave I wish to leave you this letter. I know you hated when I told you to leave me alone, even if I was working. I shoved you away and refused to play video games with you or watch our shows together, and for that I am sorry. I wish I would have given more of my time to grow closer to you. You are my older brother, and I appreciate all the things you do for me, like buying me food, letting me borrow your books, and listening to me. Although you lose your temper with me and sometimes become too physical, I know you love me and do not want me hurt. I regret not listening to you as closely as you would have liked. You had valuable information that could have aided me. The time we spent watching anime together, teasing each other, and laughing meant more to me than you would believe. As my older brother, I look up to you. I know I have never told you this, not even once, but I love you.

Your little sister,
Sidney.

Mom

Of all the people I know, my mother is my role model. I look up to her because she raised me to be who I am today. Even though it was tough and I most likely emptied my stomach on her multiple times, she nursed me to health when I was ill  Along with raising me, which is a feat all on it's own, she raised five other children. Each of us grew up to be respectable young adults. Everything she does she works hard at. From cleaning, to work, to decorating and paying bills she keeps everything under control. My mother always has a relativity cool head during difficult situations. Although some habits and characteristics are not as pleasant as I would want, I take after her my mother in many ways. For all these reasons I consider my mother to be my role model, and I look up to her.

Infomercials.

Maine

If I could live anywhere I would live near the Atlantic Ocean in Maine. I have gone to Maine before, and I adored every detail with my young eyes wide open in awe. Maine is heaven to me. It is full of trees of all different kinds as well as having my favorite type of weather. I love cool, winter weather, but I also enjoy watching the leaves change during fall. The ocean would bring a cool, salty breeze to my home, and during the summer I could go swimming. Because I would be located right next to the ocean, I would be able to buy or fish for fresh seafood everyday. As a child I remembered all the residents being quiet and polite. The rainy weather would keep me inside most of my days, though I would love visiting friends. The rain also means I would have time for myself to draw and nap inside my home. Being near the ocean also means I could go on ships to sail to different countries on whim if I really wanted to. Maine is where I would want to live if I could live anywhere in the world. It seems so perfect to me that I would not change a thing.

Top left: boats in the bay. Top right: Kennebunkport
Bottom left: Little me on the beach. Bottom right: My dad on my favorite beach in Maine

If Money Were No Object

Everyone deserves to be happy. One's friends should make one smile, one's family should support them, and one's career should make them jump out of bed in the morning. Without happiness, life becomes stale and lifeless. Everyday is spent walking like a zombie, and it does not get better. If one goes into a career that they are passionate about, they would thrive. The world progresses not from the little boy that dreams of being an astronomer and becomes an accountant, but from the boy that becomes an astronomer and puts his all into it. This world needs the dreamers that go after those dreams. Success should not be measured by the amount of money one makes in one’s life, but how much they enjoy the time spent creating, discovering, and helping. I would enjoy my time most by spending it drawing to my heart’s content. It is what I love most, and I never want to stop. If one does what they love, one can never say their life was not well spent.

The Hunger Games

My favorite book would be the Hunger Games. A new government has formed in this world, and it holds the hunger games each year in which one boy and one girl are chosen from each of the 12 districts to compete in a fight to the death. The Hunger Games centers around a teenage girl named Katniss, who volunteers in place of her younger sister who was chosen. Katniss must try her hardest to survive because her mother cannot properly take care of her younger sister, and has no way to earn money to buy food. In these games there are 24 kids who must survive on their own, and kill the others to survive. The last one alive wins, and gets sent back to their original district to live. The games are held each year as punishment for district 13's revolt against the government, which ended in district 13 being bombed and destroyed. The Hunger Games is by Suzanne Collins, who lives in Sandy Hook, Connecticut and has a husband and two children. This story made me realize how precious life is, and how not everyone has all the necessary materials to survive. Everyday is a fight to survive, and one must fight if they want to continue their life.

After Apple Picking

If money were no object, would everyone go after their dreams? Each generation teaches the next that to succeed in life they must make more money than is necessary. Because each generation is taught this, most adults find jobs that do not make them happy. This subject is the theme for Robert Frost’s “After Apple Picking”. Through the use of imagery, Frost conveys a message of boredom with repetition through well known sights, sounds, and feelings and regret for not pursuing one’s true desires in life.

As appealing as a profession may seem, one must love it to have the desire to continue it for the rest of one’s life. Frost states in “After Apple Picking”, “Magnified apples appear and disappear/ Stem end and blossom end/ Every fleck of russet showing clear” (l. 18-20). Every detail is clear, passing by the speaker who no longer seems to be amazed by these sights as they once were. Throughout one’s life, every detail should remain clear and astounding. One should never become bored or uninterested in what they do.

One may regret spending one’s whole life doing monotonous work with no satisfaction and little reward. Frost states, “My instep arch not only keeps the ache/ It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round/ I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend/ And I keep hearing from the cellar bin/ The rumbling sound/ Of load on load of apples coming in” (l. 21-26). These lines talk about feeling and sounds that are all too well known to the speaker. Every action is now a pain to the speaker because the speaker has been apple picking so long. One should do work they will always love and never become bored of.

Frost means to say that one should do what they love, and ignore the money to be made in that profession. If one does what they are good at and they love, one will be happy with their lot in life. For example, I want to be an artist. Art is what truly makes me happy and it is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Frost uses imagery to show how tiring a hated job can be if one does not love it, and encourages readers to not make the same mistake the speaker did.

Aaaaaaad    /essay.

Biting is a No No

If I could change one thing that has happened previously in my life I would change the day in fifth grade that I bit a girl named Deliah. This would be the only thing I would change because every other event in my life has shaped me to be who I am today, and I do not want to risk changing me for the worse. During lunch one day in fifth grade I sat next to my neighbor Deliah. I cannot remember why I bit her, but I remember leaning over and biting her arm. She started crying and so did I. We left the lunch room to go to lunch, and our teacher spotted me with glorious snot running down my bright red face and asked what was wrong. Because I did not want to get into any more trouble, I told her everything. I was sent to the office where I cried for another 45 minutes. Eventually when everything was said and done, I avoided any real trouble. My principal knew me and my family, and knew that it would not happen again. This event was like a shadow following me around for the next three years. Guilt weighted me down just thinking about it. If I had not bit Deliah, she would probably turn out much the same as she is today. On the other hand, if I had behaved myself I would have more peace of mind. Looking back now I think it was a childish thing for me to do, and I would gladly take it back if given the chance. 

How I Waste My Time

I would like to say that my favorite hobby would be drawing, biking, or something more productive. The truth is that my favorite hobby would be sitting on the computer, wasting my life away. I do not do anything to contribute to the modern culture we call the internet; I am merely an observer of it's antics. Because I need something to keep my attention during this time, I tend to gravitate towards the more entertaining parts of the internet. I browse websites with hilarious pictures, websites that share original artwork made by unknown artists, websites that are a community of people who care for each other, and websites that just contain seemingly random pictures that I share for no clear reason. Even with the amount of time that I spend in front of my screen, I am still oblivious to most of the news that occurs in the real world. I am only aware of political, scientific, or social news if it causes such uproar that it invades my sanctum of fun. Although it may not be a productive or fulfilling hobby, it is one that I love all the same. Would that really be considered a waste of time then? It depends on the day, I think.

Mumford and Sons

My favorite genre of music is difficult to pin down. I listen to anything from screamo to dubstep to rock. Although my music taste varies, I would have to say my favorite band would be Mumford and Sons. Mumford and Sons are a folk rock band in which the band members use guitars, banjos, piano, upright basses, mandolins and other instruments. They put so much passion and emotion into their songs that I always get lost in them. More than once I have been caught singing along wholeheartedly and dancing to my embarrassment  One of my favorite things about this band is that they use lines and ideas from other writers and philosophers in their music. Whether it be a song about a lost lover, finding one's own true happiness, or exploring the world and keeping an open mind I can always relate to their lyrics. The raw power in the main singer's voice accompanied with the rhythmic instruments gives me chills every time without fail. Mumford and Sons never cease to touch me or astound me with their music.

The Cave

White Blank Page

Winter Winds

Liar

These are just my personal favorites. Between these four I would not be able to pick a favorite as I love each of them in their own way, so I figured that posting all of them would do the trick.

I do not think the government should provide daycare for working parents. Parents should be prepares to have children, and should have the money to care for them, especially if both parents are working. If necessary, the parents should work at different times so there is always one parents to care for the children. Because they are adults, parents should be responsible. If two working parents cannot pay for daycare that means they need financial help. There is no excuse for not being able to find someone to watch children. There are nannies, babysitters, day cares, and even family that could watch them. The only excuse that is acceptable is the amount of money needed to pay for this care, which leads back to the parents needing financial help. Parents can find places and people to care for their children, the only thing needed is the motivation.

And i'm so sorry I posted this a day late. I'll try my hardest to remember next time.

My best friend c:

My Mistakes

     How do we learn? What happens if we do not listen? What makes us human? Mistakes are how we learn, the result of not paying attention, and what keep us human. Without mistakes to correct people, people would never learn the whole of the problem. I value everything morally and logically I do wrong.

     If one knows me on a personal level, one would find it peculiar that I value mistakes. I loathe making mistakes more than anything else. My face burns with shame, my eyes cast downward, and my heart sinks. Along with making mistakes goes asking for help to fix what is incorrect. Seeking assistance, to me, is almost as bad as creating the problem in the first place. To prevent the intervention of others, I try to learn what I am doing front and back before I try to solve it. I know how important mistakes are, and I know they are unavoidable because they are necessary to learn.

     Mistakes are what make me human, even though I detest being incorrect. I know nothing pushes me more than the fear of being wrong. Mistakes push me to learn, and to be better. If I didn't have mistakes in my life, I would feel unfulfilled. I would never feel accomplished  at fixing anything, and my success would feel empty and meaningless. Without all my mess-ups, shame, mistakes, fails, incorrect answers, and wrongs I wouldn't be the person I am today. I need mistakes in my life, and I appreciate that they exist. 

Cedar Point

     Over the summer, I went to Cedar Point multiple times with my family. Our group of riders consists of my father, my sister, Abby, my brother, Daniel, and I.
     I always ride with Abby, and Daniel always rides with my dad. Somehow when we were in line for the Magnum we messed up, and instead of riding together my dad and Daniel rode in the train before us. Abby and I were about to pull into the station after we rode the coaster when a worker walked over and told everyone on our train that someone had thrown up in the train before us. We had to wait for them to clean it up. When we finally got off, sunburned and slightly grumpy, we figured out the teenager behind my dad had thrown up. Not only did he throw up, but he threw up on my dad and my brother. Needless to say, nobody wanted to sit by them the rest of the day.
     When I got my picture taken for my season pass, it was the workers first day. She was just beginning to learn the ropes, so I took the opportunity. When so took my picture I stuck my tongue out as much as I could. Now when the workers scan my pass they always smile when they see my picture.
     Another day, every time my parents were walking too slow for me, I ran ahead and began to do the running man. I continued to do that the entire day, and even noticed some younger children trying to imitate me.
     The last day we went, we were all in line for the Top Thrill Dragster. Abby leaned over to me and said she thought the boy behind us in the blue shirt was cute. After we rode the Dragster, we were standing near the gate. Blue Shirt was standing 10 feet in front of me, so naturally I had to say something. Abby grabbed me and held her hand over my mouth, muffling my screams. The poor boy looked over to see me with my arms outstretched towards him, screaming through Abby's hands.
     Cedar Point is one of my favorite places to go. I get to walk around and see new faces, as well as ride coasters. This summer was one of the best.

Little Squid.

Australia! Not even close, buddy. My name takes the masculine spelling. There are six letters and two syllables. My name never had any underlying meaning to it. It is exactly what it is, just a name. My mother seemed to have an affinity to the sound an ‘S’ makes, like the hiss of boiling water when spilled.

          When my dad first held me, he said, “You’re going to be so bad.” He knew from the beginning I would be an instigator. In a way, it is more fitting to me that I was given the male spelling of my name because I grew up to be a tomboy. I was always roughhousing with my brothers and sisters, and being rambunctious to the point that nearly everyday I would be sent to my room for misbehaving. I was a raging tornado twisting through the house. My mother always told me my name had to sound perfectly when she screamed it, which is why my name is Sidney Carol and not Sidney Nancy. Nancy didn’t have the right vowels that could be drawn out loudly enough.

Sometimes I can be quite the extrovert, and my name is enough of a conversation starter to be a foothold. The same thing is said whenever introducing myself “like the city, but with an ‘I’ not a ‘Y’”, but the conversation always steers to where it will.

I never did consider my name very special. I still don’t, but I’m content it fits me, even if everyone spells it wrong. 

Second post because i can.

My most important rule is to be encouraging. It's one of the most helpful things you can do for someone.

It gives people confidence, calms them, and it makes people feel more comfortable. It only takes one person in the room snickering to send a nervous presenter to tears. Encouraging others is one of the most important parts of creating a "family."