Sour, Sweet, Gone

Some experiences in life tend to be negative and seem pointless. School is thought, by some students, to be a waste of time and unnecessary for life success. As a middle-school student, I agreed with this accusation. Now, I realize that going to school is a gift to students and in some countries, not a given right. Children in small, poor countries do not get sufficient education and struggle with issues such as poverty and even staying alive. School is were students learn book smarts, social skills, and much more. Opportunities are available to people that graduated from high school and college that others do not receive. Students do not realize how fortunate they are to have the opportunity to attend a school. School is most certainly a blessing in disguise, and if one does not make the best of it, it will be gone.

Truth vs. Fiction

Sometimes the truth of a matter seems to be fiction. An unbelievable instance is sometimes hard to grasp by people. In sports, there are usually players that are expected to do better than other players. In a little league baseball game, there was a physically handicapped boy who had to have a walker to walk properly. The game was tied with one more inning to go. The handicapped boy struggled to home plate to take his turn batting. After using the tee, the boy hit the ball to the pitcher. The boy started off to first base, as the crowd on both sides cheered him the entire way. The pitcher overthrew the ball past first base so the batter could continue to second. The fielders continued to over-throw the ball, which eventually welcomed the handicapped boy at home plate, scoring the winning point. The crowd's eyes were filled with tears because of the boy's happiness. It is unbelievable that a group of young boys, such as the fielders, would give up winning a game in order to make someone less fortunate happy.

"The True Knowledge" by Oscar Wilde

Thou knowest all; I seek in vain

What lands to till or sow with seed--

The land is black with briar and weed,

Nor cares for falling tears or rain.

Thou knowest all; I sit and wait

With blinded eyes and hands that fail,

Till the last lifting of the veil

And the first opening of the gate.

Thou knowest all; I cannot see.

I trust I shall not live in vain,

I know that we shall meet again

In some divine eternity.

"The True Knowledge" by Oscar Wilde is a religious poem. The poem infers that God is the true knowledge and He is the answer for everything. The author of the poem notes that he "seeks in vain" in what to do. The poem is explaining that without God, people do not know all the answers. He said that he has hands that fail, which means he sins and makes mistake. The author is speaking to God when he says that they shall meet again in a divine eternity.

Music

Music is a great way for people to show emotion or set a mood. Oldies music is usually uplifting and sets a cheerful mood. Artists of the 60’s to the 80's were focused on keeping people entertained with upbeat music and fun songs. People would enjoy going out to dances and having a good time with the fast music to dance to, much like the people of today’s generation. People that are cheerful and in a good mood most of the time are fun to be around. They always have a good time and make the people around them in high spirits. This is much like oldies music. Songs of the 60's to the 80's were always about having a good time and doing things that are not extremely destructive. Today's music talks about suicide and other harmful activities. People that listen to cheerful music tend to be more productive throughout their day and stray from depression.

Vacation Harmony

An ideal vacation is viewed very differently by each individual. On vacation, I enjoy living large by staying in luxurious houses or condos and not having to worry about anything. The people that would get to attend my ideal vacation would be people that enjoy the same kind of entertainment as me; therefore, everyone would enjoy the vacation time and no one would complain. The beginning of my vacation would be at an amusement park. I would endow myself with all the roller coasters in the park for half of a week. The second part of the week would be spent in a tropical area. The days would be spent on the beach and swimming, while at night, I would be enjoying the gala of the city. Eating at different restaurants and discovering the culinary differences of certain areas is one of the best parts of a vacation. Last of all, instead of driving home, my vacation would come to a halt after an airplane ride home. Airplanes are much faster and easier than driving, so paying for a plane ticket is worth the money.

Reunion Time!

Every year my uncle hosts a family reunion at his beautiful home in Indianapolis. My family has always been very excited to attend the reunion. Richie, my uncle, owns a home on beautiful property. He has a lake, a full size basketball court, plenty of wooded acres to ride ATV machines on, and even a nine-hole golf course. My favorite part of the reunion is swimming and fishing in the lake. Taking his boat out on the lake is very enjoyable because of the fresh air and isolation from rowdy kids back on land. Each year Richie adds a project to his home; for example, a gazebo by the lake, a tree house in the woods, and a bear statue carved from a tree in his yard. Last year his new project to show us was a newly added-on master suit with walk-in closets and a luxurious bathroom. The bathroom was just like any other bathroom until one notices the door to the attached sauna. The sauna was the best part of the newly added attraction. Besides the fancy belongings and fun events at the reunion, visiting with family gives a satisfying feeling after not seeing them for so long.

Home Sweet Home

Linton is classified as a small, boring city by its young residents. Living in Linton instead of a bigger city has some advantages and disadvantages. Bigger cities have much more traffic than Linton, so people have to leave very early to make it somewhere on time in a bigger city. In about five to seven minutes, a car easily travels across Linton’s limits. A bigger city would require much more time dedicated to transportation. Bigger cities have more recreational activities than Linton. Many high school students drive out of town to have fun. We drive to Terre Haute to see movies because the theaters are bigger than Linton Cinemas’ theater. Food is a major dominance people’s lives. Linton has a few basic fast-food restaurants and two sit-down, casual restaurants. Bigger cities have nice restaurants that would help prepare people with using manners for a dinner with someone important. Instead of living in a big city, I prefer Linton because it is less hectic. There are usually not car-jams to wait on, investigating scenes to worry about, or other hassles. When living in Linton, going out in a big city is a special treat that does not happen very often.

Going Beneath the Surface

Splash! There I went, to explore below the ocean's surface. My family and I rented a pontoon boat to drive around a bay off of the ocean. Snorkeling was a new experience to me and I was very excited to go. While driving to our first preferred destination, the large jelly fish that were daring us to enter their headquarters made me queasy of what we would find while snorkeling. Thankfully, I did not let my fear hold me back. When I first got in the water, I was very amazed. Surprising to me, some of the fish did not swim away when they saw us. The rocks and bottom of the ocean was very colorful and full of textures. Sand dollars were very plentiful in the area where we explored. To find them, we ran our fingers through the sand on the bottom, hoping not to discover a stingray. The sand dollars are not white while they are alive. The reason for the white color is when people find them they soak the sand dollars in bleach to turn them white and let them dry out in the sun for quite some time. Beneath the surface of the ocean was more incredible than I imagined. The colors and creatures of the ocean are unbelievable. Anyone who is oblivious of this beauty needs to go snorkeling.

Ahh...Memories

Perhaps traveling serves more purposes than to get away from one’s everyday life. Traveling makes many memories that will never be forgotten. It was spring break of 2008, and I went with some of my friends to stay in a great beach-house off of the coast of Gulf of Mexico in Destin, Florida. The incredible house had many levels, but the best out of all was the bottom, basement level. This level was the teenager’s lair for the week. With the door to the pool and hot tub area in our room, we spend many hours of the night outside in the water. Of all the memories made on that trip, the best is when we went go-cart racing. Alex Seat followed closely behind me, prepared to take any chance he found to leave me behind. Eventually, Alex soared past me. Out of excitement and boasting, he turned his head to see if I was close behind him. He did not realize another cart was spun out in front of him until he drilled the side with full force. On the verge of crying from laughter, I happily sped by him and left him T-boned with the other cart, where he could not move. Alex finished with last place in the race and ranks of self-esteem. Memories from spring break 2008 will never forgo me.

The Consequences of Lying

Lying usually does not help a situation in the long run. If guilt does not get you to tell the truth, someone will usually decipher the lie. It has always been understood that sneaking out of the house is an act that should not be done by good boys and girls. Even though this was evident to me, I decided to go against my parents’ rules and sneak out anyway. I was convinced by one of my friends to pick him up and take him to get food. Instead of making a prodigious amount of noise and opening the garage door to drive my vehicle, I decided to drive my dad’s work-car that was already parked outside. I had planned everything perfectly. I assumed my parents would resume sleeping until I got home, and I would just sneak into the basement to my room since their room is upstairs. If it were not for our fireplace needing more wood through the night, my plan would have worked perfectly. When I pulled in the driveway, I snuck around to the back door. I went inside to find my very angered father staring at me. I realized that night that abiding by my household rules are much easier than sitting at home for the next two weeks by myself.

Influential Person

Working hard is a trait that my father has unintentionally taught his children. He has always worked hard for what our family has and our happiness. Dad has a physically stressful job as a bricklayer, but he still brings himself to come home and take care of the lawn and many other household chores. My father is very willing to help anyone that needs help. He spends many of his days off splitting wood for my grandfather and to heat our house. Also, any time snow is deep enough to need clearing; he spends the day plowing with his tractor at people’s homes. Because of him, people are able to leave their house if an emergency arises. One of his biggest goals is to raise his children to be good people in a bad world. He has always gave us his opinion if we were doing something wrong, but let us learn from our mistakes. I have one sister and a half-brother. Scott, my half-brother, did not have an involved father because he left when Scott was two years old. My father was there for him and treated him as his own since Scott was 3-4 years old. He has been, and will continue to be a very good father throughout his life.