You

Any day is wonderful,
When I see your face and smile.
I don’t know what it is about you,
But you’re always driving me wild.

They way you look,
How you laugh and smile.
How you can always make me laugh,
Just every little thing about you.

You brighten my day by just knowing you’re near.
I just wonder how you feel,
And if you even know,
That you make my life so much better.

Now do I repay the favor?

The Stupid and Wise

What if I told you that today is your last day, or that tomorrow will be the best day of your life. Would you understand what I mean or just let it go in one ear and out the other. There are many people in this world who act without thinking and then regret it or are really proud of what they did.

If there is a kid who sees a cool looking plant or an interesting bug do you think they will stop and think of what will happen when they touch it, instead like most people they will take their chances with just going for it even if it looks painful or poisonous. It doesn’t matter who you are and if you are smart or dumb, every one makes decisions good and bad. Even the old and wise, like Santiago from the Old Man in the Sea.


One of the choices the old man made was not letting the boy, Manolin, go with him to catch the marlin. Throughout the book he keeps saying “I wish the boy was here,” (50).

He felt lonely on his journey and if he could go back and let the boy come he probably would. Without the boy there he would talk to himself and would say how he seemed crazy. And he knows that it would of helped a lot to have the boy there when he hooked the fish and when he was about to catch it. If the old man was to look back I think he would have liked to change that decision. Just in general what’s the fun of an adventure without a friend.


Another choice he made was not bringing enough food and water. He knew before hand that this could be a special day. Also as a just in case thing you should bring extra food and water so if something was to happen. He was not being very wise with the fact of that he was still holding onto the fish still pulling the boat and having to get ready other fish to eat is much work.

“They were fresh and hard and he laid them side by side and dropped the guts and the gills over the stern.” (78). If something was to happen with the fish he could of lost him. And I believe that he would have regretted losing the fish for the rest of his life.


He also didn’t bring backup weapons. Which he should of thought about when going out on the sea there are many dangers in which weapons may help greatly. Also if some of the things were old there is a change that some could break. And he needed to use them he should of know that he may not get them back. “Now the bad time is coming and I do not even have the harpoon.” (103).

You can see how this is threatening to him and how this will cause him to be tense. And that choice could have also lost him his life as well. Where if he had a little less energy or more sharks had attacked at once there his life would have been done. That was a decision that put his life at risk.


The last choice that basically caused everything else is about catching the fish and not giving it up. In general he feels sad and sympathetic for the fish. “Perhaps it was a sin to kill the fish.” (105) He even said sorry to the fish many times.

The fish is what caused the other problems like the weapons breaking, getting lost and not having enough food. He may be passionate about fishing but in this end he basically went thru all the trouble for nothing. But he made this choice for a reason as for himself. And made himself feel good for doing what he did. So he was probably mentally proud and upset.


Looking back on things you think about the decisions and consequences that had followed. Either good or bad you have to live with the choices you make every day. No matter who you are we all make mistakes. But what makes us different is if you thought about what you were doing before you do it. It could be the difference between you or someone else coming out alive or dying.

Think before you go out to a party and have a beer, think before you say yes to a stranger, or even before you eat that piece of cake. It can make a difference just like if Santiago thought about if he was to catch that fish or if he was to run into trouble. Would you really want to be alone when something was about to go wrong. Think before and give yourself a heads up to what might happen so you have an idea to what you might want to do first.

3rd Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

By: Cindy Belanger

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication, 2005 Genre: Biography

The Glass Castle is an amazing book about a poor family who lives on the edge and with what they got. A mother and a father who has four children one of them being Jeannette. They move a lot and live with what they have. They run from cops and live where they can. The problem is their mother who paints a lot and a father who drinks and smokes. You can see where a lot of money goes. But as they get older thing start to change for the kids.

“Just read the first pages of the Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, and I defy you not to go on. It’s funny and sad and quirky and loving. I was incredibly touched by it.” -Dominick Dunne

The way it’s written is not too different then most books I have read. But there is a lot of feeling and description. And you get Jeannette’s view. You know what’s going on in her head. She thinks a lot and is very smart, in fact all the kids and dad are (not so sure about the mom). I loved the book because it brings you thru what is happening as if you were there too.

I haven’t read any other books by her but this was really great. She also makes it to where you don’t really know what will happen next, but I guess it is because her life is just so unpredictable. She really made me want to go on. And I liked it so much that when it ended it made me sad. And for someone who doesn’t like to read that’s really different.

“She held up her glass. “Life with your father was never boring.” We raised our glasses I could almost hear dad chuckling at mom’s comment in the way he always did when he was truly enjoying something. It had grown dark outside. A wind picked up, rattling the windows, and the candle flames suddenly shifted, dancing along the border between turbulence and order.” (288)



This book really made me think. Think about a lot of stuff like how we take things for granted and how some people have really hard lives but make it thru. I also loved how their family is close even if there are problems with some of them. And how they have so much hope. Mostly the dad has a problem but Jeannette still believes in him and has hope even when she shouldn’t. There was so much to learn from this book.

One Rose for Roze

A rose: any of the wild or cultivated, usually prickly-stemmed, pinnate-leaved, showy-flowered shrubs of the genus Rosa. Now a new gene was added to a normal rose and it is now poisonous. A Roze: A 15 year old girl who is lonely and depressed. A blue eyed, brown hair, normal height girl who is clueless about a boy named Cody.
It was an average day and Roze was once again philegmatic. She was just another kid going to high school. Her mother and father were separated, she hadn’t seen her dad sense she was 3, and her mother was in an asylum. She lived with a foster family because she never knew her godparents. They lived in a place called Bluestone. It was cold and snowy and almost February. Even for the temperature the new type of rose was out and it was the most beautiful sight because of its genes it was around all year and it was the most beautiful flower, yet the most deadly.
It was Monday and just about every kid could concur that they hated Mondays. Her school was pretty big with about 800 kids in it ranging from 9th to 12th grade. And a lot of those kids were malefactors. They teased and hurt many kids but the most favorite girl to pick on was Roze. She was teased about how she looked and the way she acted. And just about every day they had something new to say to her. Roze tried her best to rebuff them but sometimes it was harder than others. And this was part of the reason she was morose.
Everyday was the same for Roze. She would wake up lethargic and end up thinking to herself why do I even bother; it’s the same thing every morning. Then she would get dressed and grab something, anything she found to eat and left for school. At school she was laconic and everyone around her would begin to talk about her behind her back. And she would hear some of it and think to herself again don’t they have anything better to do then bother me! Even the teachers thought she was vapid.
Days passed by and soon it was February. She loathed this month the most. Mostly because she hated how all these people had someone to love and she never did. And people always provoked her more during this time because she was so lonely. On the 14th some people would pass by her saying “Where is your boyfriend this time?” or “You see that guy over there he told me he loves you so why don’t you go over and tell him how you feel?” This just got Roze madder each time. And there was always this one guy who had his eye on her which made her to think that he was planning on saying something mean too.
On that day she was more doleful than normal. She tried to ignore all the comments she got and couldn’t wait for the day to be over with. By lunch that very eccentric boy who watched her each year was doing it again. She just ignored him too but after lunch she found in her locker a rose. The most beautiful, redolent rose she had ever seen. She wished it was from someone who was real and that it was not a joke. And just in case she decided it would be best to just throw it away. But as she turned around he was right there.
It was the boy who watched her each year. And his name was Cody. He was tall, blond hair and blue eyed. Roze couldn’t help but to stare because she couldn’t believe it. It must be him; why else would he be here? She thought as she was just about touching his blue button up shirt he had on. Then he started to smile and by the look it looked like he was about to speak.
“It was me.” He said flat out.
“Really? I mean why did you buy such a beautiful rose to just waste it?” She said kind of upset.
“I didn’t waste it because I got it for you. I have been watching you, and had liked you for a while ever sense we were in the same class in the 6th grade. I just have been too scared to say something.” He said smiling and proudly.
“Wow….I can’t believe it, I mean like someone who actually likes me. I don’t understand...”
Cody cut her off by asking “Would you be my valentine?”
She had not been so happy in her life that without pause she said “Yes!”
By the end of the day it had gotten around the school and everyone was talking about it. After school she waited to see him, they planned to go hang out at her house and she told him about a special spot that she loved to go and wanted to show him. She had told him where it was but just in case he wouldn’t be able to find it she was going to walk with him there. She had the biggest smile on sense after lunch and all the other kids were freaked out to see her smiling.
As she waited by the front door his friend Matt showed up. He was giving her a message from Cody.
“Cody has to stay after to make up a test so he will meet you after.” Matt said.
“Ok then thank you for telling me.” Roze said with a smile.
Matt decided he wanted to get to know a bit more about her so he stayed to talk.
“So Cody had said many things about you and one thing I know is that he likes you a lot.” Matt said.
But then those certain words popped into her head. She had heard them before. When other kids played around they would say sardonically that some guy liked her and all and then madness came over her.
“You’re just like the rest of them! I should have known it! You are all jerks!!” she yelled as tears filled her eyes and she started to run.
Matt was completely confused and figured that it was a really bad thing. Something he said made her think the wrong way. He went off to find Cody to tell him so he could fix it before something really bad happened. When he did find Cody he was in the middle of the test so he had to wait. As Matt was waiting Roze was on her way to the special place she loved to go to get away. She had the rose he had given her in her right hand and she griped it very hard and blood dripped from the thorns that pierced her hand.
The sun was setting as she sat down in the open field and she could see the moon and stars. She knew what type of rose it was and she made up her mind as she thought that that was so truculent and she was so mad and upset. She didn’t want to go through any more of the cruelty that people gave her and she never wanted to hurt anymore and the heartbroken feeling was just too much. She gave one more look back to see someone running toward her but she didn’t care even if it was Cody for all she knew he was just going to make it worse so she quickly plucked off one very soft rose petal and placed it in her mouth as the very odd taste was strong she swallowed and could feel the poison right away. And as she laid down Cody had got there to see what has happened. His eyes filled with tears then rushed by her side to tell her before she left to a better place
“I love you Roze, it wasn’t a joke, you misunderstood and I sorry for all that people did, but I finally got you and now you’re leaving me.” He had said it with all his might trying to fight back the tears.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know but from what people have always done to me I just couldn’t trust you and I wanted it to all end, but before I go there is one last thing I want you to know….I thank you so much for giving me the happiest day of my life even if it was for a couple hours you will always be I my heart.” She said with a whisper as she was slowly slipping away under the stars.
He couldn’t live knowing that he finally got the one he loved and then she had died. It was from all the people who were mean and from the ones who never helped. Too bad they never thought of what would happen from their hurtful words. He decided he wanted to still be with her so he took the rose from her hand ever so gently and took a petal off so he could meet the same fate that Roze had given herself. He laid next to her as the moon and stars slipped away into a blur. And now she was finally in a better place with someone who loved her too.

2nd Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

America by E.R. Frank. Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, 2003 Genre: Fiction

This boy named America had a bad childhood. Mother not wanting him or anybody else except one person. One night visiting him mother he never came back, he was stuck there. The only way to fit in with his brothers was to be bad and meaner than them. As he gets older he leaves off to many places that keep him for a while and tries to help. There are therapist and medication. By the end he is able to be on his own but realizes he doesn’t want to leave and thinks about the lady who was the only one to keep him when he was young. And after a long time he goes to visit. But soon after she had died but he gets one thing from her he keeps it around his neck now always.

“ America is a jagged, beautiful story of triumph, love, and understanding in the face of neglect and depression.” -Teenreads.com

This book is really great, not like some books I have read. This one has a lot of feeling in it and you can feel it in yourself. With all the stuff that happen to America it’s very strong feeling. There is a lot of meaning to what E.R. Frank has written. This book can go beyond the pages. It tells of how things can change and life will go on if you let it also it can get better no matter what.

I have not read any other books by E.R. Frank. This one was really good and I expect other would be too. The way it’s written in with meaning and truth along with a lot of feeling in his perspective. And you get put in his shoes also not sure what will happen next in certain parts.

“ We’re angles, Me and Brooklyn, and Ty, and Liza, and Lyle, and Clark Poignant, and Dr. B., and Fish, and Wick, and Marshall, and Ernie, and Tom, and we’re all different. Some of us are the color of leaves, and some of us have blue edges around our wings, and some of us are sliver, and we can fly.”(24)

This was a great book and I liked it a lot. It showed me how people can care and put up with so much for a person. It showed me that this could happen in some cases very similar. What some people have to go through and how some people are troubled. It was sad to read how no one wanted him but he found his way through all the pain and realized the truth about some stuff he was not sure of. The only think that makes me question is the end. What happened to him and all the others?

First Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. Penguin Group, 2007 Genre: Fiction

Vampire Academy is about a princess vampire and her guardian. They had ran away from their special academy then two years later the people trying to get them back finds them and brings them back. As their high school life resembles ours with hating and heartbreaking. He princess Lissa and her best friend Rose is her guardian. Rose is human and vampire which makes her Dhampire. And Strigoi are trying to turn Lissa into one of them, and Rose must protect her. Their life is different coming back after being away for so long, Rose is basically on lockdown so she doesn’t try to run away again and have many rules not to break or she will be kicked out and then Lissa would be alone. Lissa also seems to want to help Rose for once, but she ends up getting carried away, and it is not good. She seems to be turning like what had happened before they ran away. Will it repeat the past? If you want to know what happened next then you are going to have to get the book.

“A dark and compelling world! Rose is sassy, dangerous -my kind of girl.” -Gena Showalter

This book is one of a couple other books she had written. This is also the first of a series. She writes in Roses’ perspective and it stays that way. The only time it is in Lissas’ perspective and Roses’ is when Rose goes into Lissa mind. Then have sush a strong connection and you and just feel it. That they have a very special and unique bond. I haven’t read any other books by her but plan to later on.

“The guy’s dark eyes lingered on the now covered bite a moment longer and then met mine. I returned his look defiantly and quickly jerked out of his hold. He let me go, though I knew he could have restrained me all night if he’d wanted.” (11)

This book was great! I don’t like reading, but I enjoyed reading Vampire Academy. It made me want to keep reading. There was a lot of turns and suspense. She put a lot of great effort on this book and it paid off. There is so much detail and description that it is almost as if I was there tagging along with them the whole time.

Biking toward laughter with friends

Money for a lot of people is the most important thing these days, but how does the people with very little money live on. Is there something they use to replace money? Or do they just hate life and everything? Does money really buy happiness? Or is being with the people you love, more than money can ever give you?


The sound of wind through my hair, and bike tires on gravel. Faster then the speed of lightning! As I make my way down this hill I feel so alive. Little bumps are no match for a diamondback! I stay remained on the seat till I catch some air. Jolting forward as I hit the brakes till I slow down enough to turn the corner. Then I have to work my way up hill again.
I value something’s that is worth money, but not for that reason. It was Christmas morning. As I stepped downstairs skipping the second to last stair so I miss the creaky one. It was quite and peaceful, but cold so I grabbed a sweatshirt. I couldn’t wait for everyone to get up. I waited eagerly hoping it wouldn’t be much longer. When they did get up we went to our living room and opened up presents. We were almost done and my mom said when you are done Cindy to go to the basement. I said OK and finished up.
We all went to the basement it was very cold so I wanted to hurry up. Then she told me to go to the side room. As I went in I saw the awesome purple bike. It was a diamondback bike. That meant it was a dirt bike so would be easy to go through woods and on normal pavement and it gets yearly tune ups and all that kind of stuff. I gave her a hug and then got stuck bringing it up stairs. It is not that heavy so easy to move around. I love it and it gets me places faster than walking and when I can’t get a ride. Also it is environment friendly too.


“OMG! What is that?!” I shouted at Jess, and JJ added “It is her face!” Then a huge burst of laughter came about all of us. “You got to take a picture, everyone get in, on the count of three get ready….1…..2…..3!” and after the snapshot sound went off we moved.
I value something that no one could ever put a price on. A beautiful day to go outside and JJ suggested we do. JJ just found an application on my computer that uses my webcam. He said there were are all these features that we could play with and one of his favorites he said is the reflection. Where you can see only to one side and it reflects back. There are two of all of use and the person in the middle is really funny looking with their face messed up if it’s not exactly in the middle. We got into weird poses and took pictures to remember this. After most of them I ended up on the ground and laughing till we couldn’t breath.
JJ started to do full body videos so we backed up. And Chris came up with a joke of making people disappear. He had me standing next to him then pushed me to his left and then “POOF!” I would vanish because on the screen you can only see from the middle to the right and the other side is reflected. It looked so cool and amazing; it was the best feeling and amazing memory.


What I value the most is precious memories with friends. I still love some of the valuable things in life like getting a new bike or something special from a friend. To me money doesn’t bring true happiness only my friends do. When I look at a bike and my friends you can clearly see the differences. Unlike the bike my friends are alive and can have fun with me the bike on the other hand is a bunch of metal and plastic which doesn’t show if its’ happy or sad. Having friends is so much more than a bike. Having a bike thro is what gets me to my friends’ house on certain days. A lot of the time no one can drive and walking is just too long of a wait to see them. That’s when I grab my bike on nice days and glide my way there. If I didn’t have a bike I would still go but it would waste more time without being with my friends, and to me that matters the most. In any day is a good day to hangout and it’s the best days when we have a goofy day and make each other laugh.