...I’m now safe with the kid name John in my arms, but my heart is pounding like a jackhammer. I should know because I felt what getting hit like one two hours ago. I ran to the school knowing people were hiding their shivering like a very cold night. The sky felt lighter than normal, but that might just be me going insane after what just happened. I made it to school and I screamed my guts out for help. People started to make me and John into where they were hiding, but I ran past them to the back of the school where I knew a helicopter a few blocks back near the middle school was located. I got in and flew by the seas were I knew they were coming. The engine was roaring like a lion. I doubled checked the bomb was in place and was ready to...
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...The sun sparkled on the newly fallen snow as Saturday arrived. Christy flew down the stairs waking us, forgetting to help Mark out of his crib. We could hear his cries as she excitedly pulled us out of bed. This was her day. It belonged to no one else, her first solo ice skating competition. Much had gone in preparation for this all important day. Able to walk a balance beam at two, Christy took to ice skating as quickly as she walked across the balance beam. We were soon involved in a world of group lessons, private lessons, ice pros, costumes, and ice shows. Thank goodness for the Zion Park District and how lucky we are to have a regulation size rink in our small town. As she graduated into higher levels of skating, I learned boots and blades were purchased separately with the price going up as well. Who knew! Costumes for the big shows were purchased through the park district and Christy eventually graduated to being in several numbers which translated into more costumes and more time at the rink. Thank goodness we lived five minutes away! Costumes for solo competition had to be made by me or hired out to a professional seamstress. Thank goodness I could sew! With music selected, Annie, it was now my turn. I found a deep red stretchy fabric, the operative word being stretchy. Covered in red stretchy fabric, the dining room table looked like a war zone as I pondered my first cut but first, a pattern had to be improvised from her workout clothing...
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...Day slipped into evening as a warm light filtered into the kitchen, filling it with a warm glow. I sat up on the countertop, a pet peeve of my mother’s but a habit of mine that I made no effort to break. I stared at the cabinet across the room, filled with the awards and trophies I gathered throughout my life; from the first place ribbons I received after racing in the swim meets that composed my youth to the high school high honor roll certificates that I found myself working sleepless nights for. My thoughts flickered and I reminded myself that my grades weren’t everything, but when I felt the paper and plastic held steadfast in my hand, I knew I did at least one thing right. Until I didn’t. Cries for help poured from the two-way radio lying on the kitchen table; the alerts rang rapidly after one another, each becoming more deafening. The voice wasn’t of my brother, it sung lower and dripped of deceit with its breathy moans. Thoughts and fears raced through my mind, every scenario worse than the previous one. I felt petrified as I gripped the counter with white knuckles—something horrible was happening to the voice, or even worse, to my brother....
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...It’s my senior year, I’m seventeen years old and I’m scheduled to sign my letter of intent to play baseball at Malone University. I could not be more excited. Playing college baseball has been my dream for seven years now. All those difficult days working through workouts, arm injuries, and practice don’t seem so pointless now. It’s eleven o'clock in the morning and I’m outside my school about to walk in. It’s almost time for my signing and I see my parents arrive at the school parking lot from work as I wait at the entrance to the school for them. It’s time to head in. I arrive in the gym with my parents at my side, my coach is there along with a man from the newspaper. The man’s jacket says “Bob,” which I found funny since his name is Bob, it’s almost like a built in name tag. Bob now starts explaining how the picture is going to work and who will stand where, who will sit here, who will sit there. I start thinking about the picture. Should I smile? Should I not? What do I do with my hands? I thought I’d actually be signing an actual document, but I actually just had a random roster sheet in front of me while I held a pen. This didn't matter to me because today still signified that all my...
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...When I was freshman in high school, a tragic event happened. I was at a friends house, playing basketball in the barn. The goal is very old, and has lots of nails keeping it together. So, one day, the ball got stuck in the rafters of the goal.I jumped up to get the ball loose, and on the way down, a nail caught me in the stomach, ripping my flesh from my lower to upper stomach. When i first came down, I felt a sharp pain in that area. Then when I saw the large, vigorous cut, it made me realize how bad it was. Blood stained my shirt, and the ball. It was a mess. After I cleaned up, a scab appeared the next day. It was a sharp, clean, deep cut, therefore the scab was thin. Overtime the scab went away, and scar has formed. Living with this long, sharp scare is hard sometimes when I take my shirt off. But, I have overcome this and learned to live and love the body I have been blessed with. On the day my tragic event happened, I was having the best day ever. I went to the high school football game with all my friends. We were having lots of fun cheering on our team, yelling and having a good time. The night was just getting started because after the game we always go back to Scott’s house and play ball....
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...I was terrified that I wouldn’t fit into any event. I wasn’t really good at anything other than free, and I hated long distance. I was okay at sprinting, but not great. Both of my sisters had very specific niches. Hannah was a record holder in the 100 fly and 200 IM, Hayley was a record holder in the 500 free and 200 free. 8th grade passed, and for the first time in my life, I was not looking forward to summer. High school swim starts the second week of June and goes to December. The day of the first high school practice came and I felt sick. We got to the pool and I really wished I could stay in the car. Looking back, all of these worries were silly. I got so riled up and psyched myself out so much for something so small, in the big picture. At the end of the practice, I was torn. Part of me was relieved but I was also very unhappy. The practice was harder than anything I could have ever imagined, and the thought of going back for almost 3 hrs a day, 5 days a week, for the next 6 ½ months was unbearable. I didn’t want to go back the next day, much less the next 6 months. But I did go back. Practices got harder, but I was getting...
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...It was 10:30 P.M, as I lay in bed I could not help myself from thinking about our big game against Campbell High School. I looked beside my pillow as I seen my notifications blowing up with multiple text messages from my team mates. “I don’t know about you guys but I’m excited for tomorrow” said Jessica. Of course one of our skilled players would be excited about the game. I tossed and turned for a good hour knowing that this will be the first to last game of my soccer career. The day of our game came; as the school bell rang I knew it was time to hit the ladies room for a quick change into my gear. Like usual we met at the front of the school, one by one each of our players came looking like zombies. Exhausted from school we were all prepared to face tonight’s game. As much as any of us wanted to talk during the ride, we all had our earphones on to keep us in a ready mood for the game. As we arrived to Campbell high school, the tension risen when eyes were laid on us while walking onto the field. Looking across the field Campbell girls whispered and laughed. They probably were laughing after our terrible...
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...Growing up, my mother pushed me to thrive in everything I did, and this discipline created a deep hunger to succeed. Throughout my life, my mom has taught me to always give my best and to never be satisfied with just getting by. I have taken these lessons and applied them to all aspects of my life: school, sports, work. There is not a single time that my mother was not encouraging me. Whether it be on a math test, during a soccer game, or at a field day event in elementary school, my mom has been my number one fan. Because of her, I strive to make every goal, ace every test, and win every first place ribbon. During my twelve years of school, my mother has endured long hours of studying and homework alongside me. When a problem frustrates me she assures me that I will understand it, and helps me to do so. As a senior in high school and as a young adult, I have made my share of mistakes. Regardless, my mother has always found a way to use my mistakes to better me. Though at the time I was frustrated and upset, in hindsight I was fortunate to have someone to show me that learning from my mistakes would help me grow. I have cherished these lessons and hope to continue living by them through college and throughout my...
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...RIIIIIIINNNNGGG! As soon after school bell rang I became more and more nervous. As soon as I got my belongings from my locker I ran down to the gymnasium. I heard the excited screams of the people trying out for the basketball team coming from the locker rooms. I decided to wait around and see how they warmed up. I stood there shocked as the other teammates effortlessly made shots I strived to make. From there I knew I would not make the team that year and decided not to go at all. With my physical form in my right hand along with my tryout forms right on top of them I left. When I arrived home I thought if I made the right decision about quitting. I knew I should not have quit. I could have tried. I vouched that next year I would try...
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...situations have occurred while I attended school of my ninth grade year. I recall it properly because it concerned an event that I profoundly feared I would encounter during my older years: a high school dance. Not that I was a poor dancer. Nothing of the sort! It was just I was, and still am, very self conscious of how I would look to everyone else, especially my friends. I mostly danced with my friends, which are mostly girls--sure, that’s all right, but still, that’s a different story when it comes to a boy. Let’s start from the beginning. My friends Blakie, Maddie, Orianna, and myself included, we had all gotten ready in Blakie’s house; there were lots of makeup and hair products involved, and they all were persistent with me wearing makeup, (I never understood why they insisted on me wearing makeup when, in my opinion, we girls look absolutely dashing without it) but I was tenacious, nevertheless,...
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...The football field was freshly cut that morning and a workman had just painted the lines to mark the yard lines and endzone. It had rained earlier in the day, so the soft, mushy mud made my cleats sink into the ground. Cutting would be hard and my jersey would be dirty, just like some old school football. My first carry is one I will remember forever: a fumble. I took the handoff from Drew and got through the hole between two of my large linemen, but instead of taking it to the house, I got right in the stomach by an opposing player and the ball squirted out. The game ended and I had a total of three fumbles and I could not look myself in the mirror, I wanted to cry. I went home and I did. After a couple hours of thought and avoiding homework, I decided that I couldn’t face my head coach after a game like that: I quit. My confidence was gone and the expectations I had set for myself were too high that game. I became the manager for the team the rest of the year, in other words, the...
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...When sports are all you have, giving up is not an option. Since elementary school, I have always participated in sports, and they have always been a big part of my life. Once I was in high school never did I think running would become my main sport; becoming my number one reason for going to school. When a former teammate told me I had the potential to go on and run in college, every day I would show up to practice, putting all my effort to perfect my times. Not once did it ever cross my mind that it was possible to have something wrong with my body, causing me to sit out from running for what felt like two eternal years. From then on, I realized this sport was all I had; it was the only thing that helped me feel better. I learned never to take my sport for granted because I had big things ahead when it came to running. The start of my first year I was new in the state of Oklahoma, and I was to start high school off with no friends. It was a bit nerve wrecking but I had decided I would join a sport to become involved at school. Since I had been on the Track team in elementary school, I decided to try out for the Cross-Country team since it was similar to Track. Soon enough came the day of my first race on the junior varsity team, the feeling of finishing a race was great and I was...
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...They say after high school you're life changes and nothing is at all what you expected it will be. Rather it's putting on the Freshman 15, buying a car/apartment, or changing your major 20 times to meeting the love of your life, but for me I hope to experience out of those things only buying a car or apartment. In the future the two most important things to me is to be happy and successful. After high school I plan to take my first vacation out of Illinois in California for a week. Then later take another trip to Paris and visit the Eiffel Tower while loading up on spaghetti or go to Germany and go sight-seeing. After summer I plan to attend UIS to start my journey of becoming a social worker, while being a two sport athlete playing softball...
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...Myrandah Hermosillo -10th grade Yuma School District-1 Yuma High School I'm a Latin American female who has jumped, blocked, and sprinted through obstacles in life. I have dealt with many hardships. These hardships have made me a better person by having hospitality, gentleness, and self-control. A field of crops and loud high school games is what my community is encouraged by. I live in a rural community located northeast of Denver. I moved to this soft dirt, organic community five years ago for work reasons. This was one of my obstacles in life. This was a big change from moving from a bigger location to a smaller one, where I had to get used to so many new ways to learn , ways of transportation, and what people were like. My family comes from Nicolas Bravo, a very poor community in Chihuahua. Where my parents did not have many of the resources they needed. My father is a semi driver in our little town and works everyday as long as there's work. My mom is a maintenance worker at a local store and only works Mondays. They both only finished sixth grade. They are agricultural workers. They have been doing agriculture work since the age of 15. There agriculture work has followed them from Mexico to the United States. Most of my family members have only...
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...Two years ago I entered my final four years of schooling, also referred to as high school. Coming into high school was very nerve wracking. I only had an idea of what it was like from my older siblings and what is portrayed in movies as well as tv shows. In other words I was blindsided by the whole concept of high school. When you enter high school as a freshman you are automatically labeled as annoying and immature. At the time I was very upset with a label that I didn't feel that suited me. Looking back I see why freshman get that label and how you begin to change over time. I have faced many obstacles in the duration of my high school experience, and will continue facing them everyday but the obstacles have shaped me into the more mature...
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