"No More Pain Please" by Elizabeth Ayala

Every time in life we go thru some hard difficulties. People that you love leave or past away. But my grandpas death was the harm fullest of all. It all happen in thanksgiving, he was ridding his bike to go to the store. My grandpa didn't want to come to Santa Ana so he stayed at Hemet. He was a little bit over with beer and driving his bike.The light turn green and the green man that is on the light to cross was on. My grandpa was crossing and out of no where comes a car and hits him. The ambulance came and we didn't know anything. The next day my uncle gets a call, it was a nurse. The nurse had said that my grandpa was on comma and they wouldn't know if he would past the night. But the bad news didn't end there the doctor came in and told us that my grandpa had really bad head injuries and he had CANCER. That word hit the whole family in the heart. I just went directly to my mom to go comfort her. After waiting three whole weeks my grandpa was finally out of comma. But the news couldn't get any worst the doctor came out and told us that my grandpa had the possibility of not remembering us. We all started crying I would just hear in my head " what if he doesn't remember me, how would my grandpa be now?" The good news was that my grandpa fortunately remember everyone. We took him home after another week but, he had to keep on coming for unfortunately he had cancer. No one was in spirit of Christmas. on Christmas day we open or presents but i notice something nobody had a smile on there face, it was the saddest Christmas we ever had. The next week the doctor gave the news to my grandpa he had cancer but he would just told them "you guys are CRAZY, I don't have cancer." He still took his medicine and everything but in his mind he always had that he didn't have cancer and we were all crazy. After three long years of fighting with cancer he got and operation but the doctors told us that that was just to reduce the pain. But we all notice something he got skinnier and skinnier. The thing that got us more upset he was forgetting who we were and we had to remind him. Not only that he was BLEEDING a lot every day. The CANCER was attacking more and more. The cancer was like an animal that hadn't eating for years and barley had a chance to eat. A nurse kept on coming more often. To the nurse he would always talk about death and other things. But to us he just didn't want to talk about his disease he would tell us"enjoy me today that you have me because, maybe tomorrow you wont see me." There was this one week he started talking about death more and more. He would ask all of his grandchildren to pray for him and play with him. But to his daughters and only son he asked them to pray a rosary with him. One day he told my mom to read a prayer but my mom just could she burst out in tears. A week past and we got a call my grandpa wouldn't wake up but he was still breathing but, before that he had told my mom "after i leave take care of your small sister and your mom please." They had machines connected to him to see if he was alive. One say his heart was beating really slow and my grandma called all of her daughters and my uncle. They each talked to my grandpa one by one would express his feelings. After everyone was done talking to him and my youngest aunt was on the phone with him she talked to him for a long time. After she hang up the phone rung back and we had gotten the new he died after talking to all his kids. He just wanted them to tell him good bye. My aunt fainted and my mom too i was alone with them i didn't know who to get first so i got my mom and let my aunt drop to the floor. My dad got out of the room and helped me wake them up. We had a funeral for him in Hemet and in Mexico where he wanted to be buried next to his mom. He died in October 4, 2007. It was the saddest day of my life. But he would always tell us i want death to come to me soon. I am always gonna admire him for surviving 3 years of harsh pain. The words that I am always gonna remember he told us" No More Pain Please."

The First Time I Took The Bus by Heriberto Hernandez

when i first took the bus for the first time. it was kind of scary because there were many people who i dont no. they aslo somtimes act kind of wierd. some people also smell kind of bad. im guessing because they dont take showers very much. but now i take them without any worrys. i also go with my freinds so its more fun even though we get in trouble. they dont appriciate it when there is a lot of noise. so they kick people out. But the important thing is that i got over my fear of riding
buses.

THE STRANGE PLACE BY FRANK SALGADO P7

WHEN I WENT TO MEXICO. I SAW LITTLE KIDS WALKING AROUND WTHOUT NO SHOES. SOME SMALLER BABY'S WERE WALKING IN PAMPERS. SOME FAMILIES WOULD EAT STRANGE THINGS. I WOULD JUST STARE AT THEM. THEY WOULD EAT STRANGE ANIMALS. THE TAXI'S WERE EVERYWHERE. THE MONEY WAS CALLED PESOS. THE SHOES WERE 500 PESOS. I THOUGHT THAT WAS ALOT OF MONEY. THEN THEY TOLD ME IT WAS ONLY 50 DOLLARS IN THE UNITED STATES. THE DOGS WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE. SOME WOULD FOLLOW YOU ALL THE WAY TO YOURE HOUSE. SOME WOULD FIGHT IN THE STREETS. THERE WAS SOME PLACE CALLED "EL SOTALO". THAT WAS WHERE ALL THE STORES WERE AND THE RESTUARANTS. I DIDNT FEEL CONFARETBALE SEEING KIDS LIKE THAT. I WOULD HELP THE PEOPLE THAT I COULD.

red ANT Jon Gomez

When i was small i was very curios and i liked animals insects and all sorts of living things i used to touch them a lot play with them and soon i learned what they can do to you some did not do nothing other bite. the first insects i played was a red ant i was putting them in water and seeing them swim. it was all fun and games till i put the red ant in my arm it walked up my arm and then i put it backward and it bite my hand i was like bleep and started to cry i was small and it really heart my hand i was going to go back when i felt better to get revenge but they were gone.

Louie,His Cosin & his Other Cosin by. citlalli nunez

Well my story isn't that scary but it sure scared me!(and my sister). It all happened at spurgeon ,right after school.It was my sister,jessica,jesus, and me.We were walking toward the bridge, but right before we got there a big old dog came out of the nowhere.so my friend decided to crossthe street.He went first, then the rest of us.But we didn't check to see if there were any police around.the police stoped us .I was like whaterver, but my sister started crying.So I started crying too.It was good that my best freind saw us and called my mom. My Mom got there and asked us what had happened. We got a ticket of about 130 dollars.At the end I learned my leoson.

"Those who don't " by tony tinajero

yes i was treated unfairly one day. i was with my cousins we decided to go to the park one day then we went to the soccer field then we were playing soccer then some people said can we play then we said no cause we just want to play alone then they start to cuss at us then they got our balland kicked it to the street. as soon as they kicked the ball a car pop it then we just wanted to leave. from there they told us never to come back or else pay the consequences then we just stayed quiet got on the car and left from there but when we were going to leave they told us like fat people go back to the store and eat more thats why its unfair.

"The House on Mango Street" By Eddy Rodriguez

When i was a little kid I didn't really have attachment to the place where I lived, but when I heard That we were moving to Washington because my dad got offered a job there, my sister and I were quaintly surprised. We were at the Islands restaurant, and at that moment I really did not have the appetite to finish my meal. The reason for this is that I've realised how much that I would miss my neighbour, the school all the other nouns that co-exist in my neighborhood.

"House on Mango Street" by Enrique G.

I've never had to move anywhere far before and if I did it was always in Santa Ana or near it. But now in 2008 I'm not moving to different street anymore or anywhere near Santa Ana. TEXAS, the lone star state. I don't know how it feels to move...yet but i can imagine how. It must really suck a lot to move to a different state. Not knowing anyone and being around different ethnic groups will have an impact on me. I've lived at my beautiful house for almost 10 years and now I got to move. Some of my fears are that I wont be accepted as I am accepted here. But even if I move to Texas I will always be a Californian. Peace.

a scary sight by Brianna.C

One night me and my friend Jackie were outside looking at the stars. the stars were beautiful I thought. then I was thinking god was watching over us. Then I saw something very scared me, it made me jump up and go inside the house, I saw a could shape of a skull, it scared the hell out of me. Then I went out side and check if it was still there but it was gone.
The End

"Clouds" by Rosie Rodriguez

The whole creation of the Earth reminds me of how great the Lord is. Hard to believe that the Creator is much greater than the skies. It sometimes seems impossible but it is true. I imagine how the heavens will be when I get there. Living without any problems or worries. Can you imagine that? I have actually thought it would be very comfortable sleeping or relaxing on clouds. There were times when I was bored and I enjoyed looking at all the different shapes and figures that the clouds created. Some of the things I saw were different kind of tools like hammers and buildings and a pair of eyes,sunglasses,and a whistle. Isn't the Lord's creation a beautiful view??

"Elenita, cards, palm, water"brenda vazquez

when i was around 10 or 11 years old i remember that io played a game that it would either say yes, no, or maybe by the movent of the sticks and it would supposebly tell you the truth, i dont remember the name of the game but i remember that back then it was a really popular game. Everyone would play it every time they had time during break, passing periods and after and before school. teachers and parents would get mad saying that the game was evil. My mom told me about the "ouija board" and i the meaning of it she also told me about the "veronica game" that supposebly if you say verona seven time in front of the mirror you're going to die unless you tell other seven different people to do it. i personally don't really believe this myths but i guess it's all faith.

"Chances"

Brenda Hernandez.
Mr. Gardah p.7
5/28/08


Have you ever been imbaressed of what you are wearing or what you look like? I have. I usto believe people actually cared about what was wearing or what i looked like. In reality, nobody really cares. I have noticed many things about people and one of them is not carring about what you are wearing. I have reolized that people are most conseared about your personality and attitude towards them. I do not believe cloths and materialistic things make a person. I believe a persons attitude and personality can say lots about them. As they say its the first impretion that matters the most. Just the thought of knowing that if everyone's materialistic status and clothing were subtracted from them, every person in the world would have a diffrent perspective. Everyone's personalitys and the way of carring themselfs would be so much diffrent. In my personal opinion, peolple should be appriciated for what they are and not for what they look like.

"Meaninig"-eunice cortes

My name is Eunice I really like it because its a very unique name. It means Victorius and its origin is Greek. When my parents started naming us[2 older brothers, an I] they decided to give us all biblical names. Isait my older got his name from a profit and Eunice was his mother, and David was a king. My mom's middle name is Zeth which means goddes of the under world, which is weird because mine and my brothers names are religious. When I was smaller people use to tease me because I had a weird name, it use to bother me but now I know they were just hating on me. Friends now call me "eee-you-nice" or, "you nice" and even "eeeook- nice" it doesn't bother me anymore I've really learned to like my name. I also liked the fact that no alot of people have that name, I've only met two girls that have the same name as I do and one of them became one of my friends!

My First Time in Universal Studios By: Luis Jimenez P.7

When I went to Universal Studios I was scared. Because I saw the commercials and all there advertisements.So I went to Universal Studios during the way I was getting ready. So then we got there and there parking lots were cool because the pictures like frankeistein jurrasic park and others. The first ride was the mummy return. The mummy return was cool because it lasted 30 seconds.The ride was cool because it was dark and scary.The next ride was the jurrasic park.The ride was nice because it had dinasours and they looked real. The best part was when the t rex came out and almost giong to eat you. The little boat came down and then got soaked.They closed like at 10:00 pm or 9:00pm. I left home shocked.

The Big Move

I still remember the time when my family was getting ready for our big move. It was the day which I would never foget. The move was from Vietnam to America, which my parents had been planing out since the year 1980. I was really nervous about going on an airplane since I'd never been on one before in my entire life. All these things were going through my head like it's the plane going to crash when its flying mid-air? Are the Terrorists gonna attack the plane that im in? ect. But besides that, there was more of excitement to it. I can't wait to see my cousin when I get off that airplane and saying hi to them and actually seeing them without having to look at them over a picture that my aunt send my family every now and then. It was really a big experience for me. I would never forget that day.

- Tuyen Tran

"Beautiful and cruel" by:stephanie salas

I really have not had real experiences whee I have been discriminated by my race or my ethnic group.But I've known of many people.We have all heard of stories where girls,boys and adults are not well treated because of their color.There is real life stories that are now famous because because the people who it happened to are known because they fought for what they thought was right and did not give up.that's why many African Americans are known and people who werent afraid to go against what people thought was right but was really not.Like the AfricanAmericans that escape their owners and went to look for their freedom.I really admire them because they wanted this world to be fair and were the brave ones of the crowd.If I were in a situation like this a would be the bigger person and fight to get what i want.

"Papa who wakes up in the dark" Stephanie Salas"

In this chapter like Esperanza i have lived intense moments for example a relatives death or someone really close to us(me and my family).There was a time not long ago when my father's best friend which he considered as a brother past away. He meant so much for my dad he lived so many events and special moments with him his death was very powerful it heart us all but it destroyed my dad.I had never before seen my dad cry. I could not believe it I felt so horrible as Esperanza would say I will hold and hold and hold him"(57). I was so shocked my dad who was the strongest in the family know was the weakest. Tears coming out of his eyes just mad me feel horribly put i had to show him that i was strong.After that i told him everything was going to be ok and he was in a better world than the one were in.

" The day I was moving" by Amanda Gutierrez

Since I was three years old I lived in Costa Mesa, in an apartment. The thing I loved the most about liveng there was that I got to go the park almost everyday because it was just across the street. I remember that I would always play there for hours. As morning came one day I woke up and so did my mom, as a routine I would always eat breakfast with my mom and we would head off to the park, but this day was different. My dad was not at work and my sister was not at school, but I didn't really care of course because all I wanted to do was go to the park. So I pulled my mom's shirt and she said that we were not going to the park today because we had to pack our things because we were going to move to another place. So as they began to pack I began to cry because all i heard her say was that I was not going to be able to go to the park anymore. Then I began to think of how I would miss going to the park everyday and swing on Ralph. Who is Ralph you may ask, well he was my favorite swing. I would swing on him everyday. Just the fact of us moving and some other kid using my swing made me angry because trust me when I was little I used to have a sharing problem. The other thing that I was going to miss was the fact that I wouldn't get free lollipos from the ice cream man because he was my dad's friend. I remember that I would always wait for him outsiede my apartmnet at 2:30 and that's when he would give me my candy. But what I was looking forward was that my mom said that where we were moving there was a much bigger park and a bigger playground. As I thought about it i knew it wasn't going to be that bad because like my mom said what's the whole point of learning new things if you don't explore new places.

"The family of little feet" By Gilberto Lopez

I have obtained something that had changed my plans for the day. I obtained the Playstation 3. Playing the newest Grand Theft Auto game was so awesome. I killed, I stole, I drove and I had fun. I drove cars, helicopters, motorcycles and boats. I seriously didn’t regret having to change my plans for that day because that fun was so worth it. I enjoyed playing Grand Theft Auto 4. The main mission was to kill Dimitri a man who had burned down my cousin’s apartment and also kidnapped him but you face many obstacles along the way. He runs away and you do missions for other people who give you money and also give you clues that help you were to find Dimitri. You also get to dress your character as you wish I dressed him all fancy like with a one thousand dollar suit.

"There was an Old woman" By Gilberto Lopez

I was once like the Vargas’s kids not anymore that behavior is about only two percent in me right now. Even though I was always misbehaved and hyper my family cared for me. I did misbehaved a lot that is why my mother, father, and specially cousins disciplined me. When I used to live at Mexico I was called “El padrecito peligroso” which meant the dangerous priest. They called me like that because when I was baptized I was dressed as a priest, not the black suit with a white shirt and the black thing by your neck. I was dressed more like the Pope but without the little hat. As I remember the people started calling me like that when I was about four years old. The main reason why people started calling me like that was because I burned my grandmother’s bed I was actually lucky that the flames did not spread out of that room. At that same age I was caught smoking by my grandfather, did I get taught a lesson. I didn’t respect anyone except for some grown ups family, and teachers. My actions didn’t lead to poor circumstances I actually turned out fine.

My Apearance By: Elias Martinez

It happened many times while I was growing. Older guys than I , teased me for my apearance. They made fun of me since I have sleepy eyes. I knew that it was true, but I couldn't take it when they made funfun of me because of the fact. The first times were hard when they first started with the teasing. It was hard since I had to be laughed at in presence of many other persons. This guys knew that I couldn't say or do anything to them since they were for some reason respected by others, because of their actions. They were respected since the other guys didn't wanted to be teasead eather. This "bad" guys I said, couldn't stand it when older persons made fu of them. But they still kept with their usual evil actions and habits. Even when adults and teachers were around, they didn't care. But with the time I never saw them again. I felt a nice relief that I wasn't going to have the pressure on me anymore. I also got used to people saying that I have slepy eyes, because they said it in a nice way. I do notice when the say it in a mean way, but I don't care anymore.

Our good day by: Elias Martinez

This happened about seven years ago when my family and I first move in to our new house. We all know that when your new to asertain place, you don't know anyone around you. You don't know how your neighbor's actions, or actitudes might be like. Sometimes we judge people who live around us just because they are different than we are. We think they are not cool enough to be with or to talk to.
During my first new days I was with one of my friends who had come visit me to my new house. We went outside for a moment and saw other guys playing soccer. I told my friend " We are way better than they are, they don't know how play good." It always happens when you think you don't like them. Then we both heard " Hey do you wan't to play soccer with us." We decided, and plaed for a while. We were having so much fun that I had forgatten what I had said earlier to my friend. After a nice game, we introduced our selves, and after all we have made new friends and just after we thought they weren't cool. We all had fun, and decided to play another game tomorrrow.

"Mango Street" By Octavio Oropeza

Their has been a couple of times where i have experienced being judge unfairly. The place where i have experienced this was in school. This is so because when i have gone to the office their has been teachers that tell me if I think that im a ganster because of my short hair. However just because someone has a different hair style, doesnt mean that you are affiliated with gangs. For example, people from India like to have towels wrapped around their head and just because they have that, it doesnt mean that they are terrorists, because like many terrorists they wear the same things around their head. In perspective, throughout life their is always going to be people thinking you are a good person, while others will think negative things about you.

House on Borchard Street by Octavio Oropeza

Throughout my life i havent gained the experience of moving into another neighborhood. However, most of my life has been spent in my house and so far it has been the only one that i have lived in 15 years. Growing up in that neighborhood, their was sometimes fears that ran across me. This is so because their would be times when i would hear gun shoots close to my house and i would have the feeling that i wasnt safe around my own neighborhood. As i grew my hopes were that nothing would happen to my family and that nobody bothered me so i wouldnt bother no one also. Therefore my hopes and fears seemed to prove true because, as i grew older i seemed to get use to my surroundings and the poeple that lived around me. From this i gained the experience of having new friends and not getting paniced if i saw gansters because i knew who they were already and also knew that i lived near them. As time passed i had the chance to know my neighborhood real good and forget my feelings that one day i will end up getting shot by being confused by someone else, but like my mother tells me, It is not always safe in the street because you know when someone is up to no good.

Lyon Street by Ruddy Castro

Lyon Street is in the past now. I will most likely never return there. The only thing that keeps me remembering of that place were all the memories i have are always taking the bus to school. I remember a lot of people, including me, would wait for the very last bus to arrive, in order to leave because the bus driver, wjo was named Rusty, always drove that bus. We liked Rusty because he would put the radio on when we wanted to hear it. Another memory I have is going to the pool on a very hot day. The memory that pops out to me of the pool is people jumping off this wall into the pool. Now I go onto the bad memories I have. The memories that clearly stands out to me is the scar i got on my wrist. All i remember is taking out the trash with my uncle and falling unto the broken glass. The rest of that day is a blur now. Another memory that i remembered a couple of seconds ago in the time a guy with a raincoat came up to me while I as near the parking lot.He was covered in a lot of blood. He told me to call an ambulance because he got stabbed a couple of times. Well as a little kid I was terrified, but I still managed to run all the way to my apartment. My mom called the ambulance and after that I don't know what happened to that guy. Well Lyon Street was overall pretty good to me, well at least I think it was.

'My Name" by Lizbett Mejia

My name is so unique that there is no one in the united states with the way my name is spelled. i should be happy that my name is so unique but i would have rather had the name my mom would have chose for me "daisy". My dad chose my name saying that their daughter would be someone unique and different and should have a unique name. my dad never really cared for my mother's opinion and whatever he said went. 'Till now he tells me i should be grateful that i have my name not the other option he would haven chosen. "Maria Soccoro de Jesus" would have been his other chose. now i'm more then glad i have my name not the other name. that name was my great grandmothers' name but seriously i thank god i didnt get that name , i mean i loved her alot i just don't want her name.

beverly

Names My mom once told me, well no actually I asked about my historical store associated of my name. My dad came to live the United States, Moreno Valley. He lived in a house with an old couple because my mom was helped back by my grandmother and my dad was living alone with the couple for about two years. My mother couldn’t help it, she wanted to be with my dad but they weren’t married. My mom and dad were already planning to get married so my dad came to the United States to save and earn money. So, my mom decided come and look for my dad to live together. Beverly the lady and lee the man got to care for my parents and ended up loving them like if they were theirs. My mom felt and loved Beverly like if she was her mom. Beverly was the one that will look over my mom when she was sick, in fact, there was this one time when my mom wanted to make dinner and for some reason she ended up burning the kitchen. When my mom saw the fire shewanted to stop it and began by trying to stop the fire with her hands. When she was hurt and ill do to her burn hand and arms Beverly cured her after staying with her in the hospital for days. So, that where my name came from but I love the historical story of my name is just that I believe it doesn’t apply to me. Love, Rocio L. Alfaro

"Hips" by Lizbett Mejia

ever since i was a little girl all i saw around me were small hips. i never really cared much for what i looked like because there was no one to show it off to. my mother's side of the family have small hips the other side has big hips i unfortunately got my father's side of the family the big hips. many people told me while growing up that it was better to have big hips then small hips. i was very self conscious of my body while growing up because my mom and sisters have smaller hips then me. i coincidentally was the only one that had a curved body, the rest of my family are thin and have small hips. until now i still don't feel right with big hips because it's so hard to have a curved body when trying to shop.

" Criminal Day" by Jose G.

Have you ever had a criminal living across your street and he was your dad’s friend ? What did you do at that time ? If you didn’t do anything and you let him go ? Explain your reason. During that time, I was living at the apartment across wild people. “ Wild People ” as the who party all day 24/ 7 with loud music. The apartments were pinkish color on the outside and in the inside was white with pictures. So, my dad had friends there and across the street. So, something happen bad because my dad was talking about his friend something bad to his wife. Next, my dad was talking to my mom in a silent voice like a if a person died right in front of him. He said, “ My friend was drinking beer and he beat up his wife over a argument.” “So she called the cops on him , but he ran to his cousin’s house.” “So each of them went separate ways to get away from each other.” “While the father had the child and the mom went to her sister’s house.”
So my dad said, “ My friend lives across the street in his uncle’s house.”
Then when I heard it, I was shock like a dog getting chase by a dogcatcher. Plus it was a criminal because what he did to his wife. My wanted to call the cops to , but she didn’t know where he is at. But my dad didn’t want to because its his best friends brother and sometimes he helps us in problems that we did need help. My mom was worried like a mouse chased by a cat. I felt alright because maybe he moved away.

"Hips" - Michelle Urena.

Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima, Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Alessandra Ambrosio, what do they all have in common? They are all Victoria's Secret "angels", Super Models. They've got it all, fame, money, fans, and a body anyone would kill for.
Superficial? Fake? Unrealistic? That’s what some would call it but believe it or not, they are some of the Best looking women alive. Maybe they go to they gym everyday, tan, maybe even get plastic surgery who knows? You might idolize them just for their looks; although in the real world beauty won’t always get you want you want. Unless of course your going to be assigned to a modeling agency.
We all want to look a certain way. Like a Barbie doll; big butt, big “ta-tas”, long legs, toned body. I thought everyone was supposed to be unique individuals. What ever happened to “just be yourself.”? You can’t really be yourself if you’re trying to look like everyone else. Not too much fat on your thighs. Flat hard abs. Getting “cut up”. You can take that figuratively and literally; only because it starts with the gym once a week to plastic surgery once a week.

by: Michelle Urena<33

"Love"? What is "Love"? by Eric Landin

"LOVE"... what exactly is it? No one really knows. We just know that we want it. People live their lives in one purpose, to find "LOVE". It's funny because we're looking for something that is invisible and we dont even know what it is. Something in us has the want and determination to do even the most stupid thing possible to attain it. Your emotions surround your body in a cacoon of confusion and deseperation; anxiety and jelousy; anger and happiness. And all that you get from it is a "good feeling". It gets addictive, like a drug, and soon your so dependant on that feeling to even smile. It gets me so mad that people think they know what it is, that its as simple as "I LOVE you" when in reality its more than that. Its the feeling of wanting to wake in the morning and the first thing you see is her face glow in the bright smile of the sun, or the knowing that your never gonna get tired of that smile, the consistancy of her beautiful face in your mind. It's the wanting to spend the rest of your life with her. The elusive "LOVE" can hide itself in many different things, but you have to be smart to not fall for its trap. I've fallen in its trap once, and let me tell ya, it's hard to get back on your feet. It takes time. I thought I was in "LOVE", and it had me fooled. But I realized too late the it wasn't "LOVE". No, no. I realized that what it really was is that I was just used to the fact that I was with her, it seem like a routine. Like something I did everyday, a habit, and I kept going back (I was so stupid). The very last time I was with her, everything seemed so dull, boring. I had mixed emotions for weeks and didnt know what to do. But it all hit me to the head like a jab from a boxer, and soon everything was clear to me, it wasnt "LOVE", I had to rid myself of that cacoon that had me isolated from the rest of my life, from my real search to find the actual "LOVE". I had to rid myself from that fictional fantasy and start living in the real world. Alas, my journey continues and along the road I met someone new, someone special. Today all that is in my mind is her beautiful face, and for some reason all I want to do is be with her. I could waste countless hours just getting lost in her eyes. Could this story have a happy ending? Only one way to find out....

"Dissapointment" by thomas franklin

My life is a roller coaster full of ups and downs
but it seems at the end i always end up with a frown
the smile it comes but then it goes
when the memories of my past woes
arise
i remember how hard i tried
how foolish was all the time i spent
beacause in the end it resulted in dissapointment

Walter(by; Yeraldet Bustos)

5·28·08

Have you ever felt responsible for someone? I have many family members or more than enough. I have three sisters and one little brother. I am the oldest one of us all, not just from us sisters but also from all my cousins from my dads side. The person I feel responsible for most of the time is my little one-year-old brother.

He is a handsome little boy with gorgeous long curly eyelashes, eyes that look like stars, lips that look like hearts, and cute pink cheeks. His name is Walter. I have always wanted to have an older brother if not just an older sister but that’s impossible. That’s why I always try to be the best sister I can be.

My little brother sometimes calls me mom. I feel like he really loves me. He is a really sweet boy. He always wants me to carry him and follows me around when I cant do so. Furthermore he prefers me to carry him from any of my sisters. He even prefers me to carry him instead of my mom doing so. The only person he will actually go to when I'm carrying him is my dad, but he wont really ask for him.

All the time or at least most of the times when I come home my brother is waiting for me to carry him. I have to take care of him most of the times. When he is with my sisters he is crying, even if he is sleepy and tier he won’t go to sleep with them. But as soon as I carry him he goes to sleep. I really love my brother, as well as all my sisters. Only that sometimes I feel responsible for him, not only responsible but I sometimes I feel like a mother to him.

Sometimes i get very frustrated because i have many things to do and he wants me and no one else to carry him. When i have to do many different chores and i still havent done my homework, my sisters try to take care of him but he just cries. This makes me get mad, stressed out, and frustruated, aswell as it makes me feel bad since my brother cries for me .

Responsibilities by victor salgado

Most of the time i spent when i was little and still do actually was spent in taking care of my two little brothers. As the eldest in the family i felt like i never had any time to play or actually be a kid. When i was six my brother Carlos was born and he turned out to be a handful. I had to teach him manners and show him right from wrong since my parents were both very busy. Then as if i didn’t have enough on my hands my mom had another kid, my brother Juan, and i was just days from turning twelve. A tragedy happened two days before my birthday my uncle Albert died and at the age of twenty-five. After a great loss in our family my job was even harder because i had to support my mom and my dad was rarely home because of work so i was in charge for a while. It’s not as fun as i wanted it to be. There were a lot more responsibilities and a lot on my shoulders. Getting no help what so ever from my brother Carlos i had to help out my dad and mom in taking care of my family at a very young age. Now I’m fourteen though soon to be fifteen come this October i thought that i had finally been done with all that stuff. Figures who would have thought my mom would get pregnant again. So since my brother still doesn’t want to help i guess ill have to start again from the beginning with my new born baby sister. I thank my parents for being strick with me and giving me all those responsibilities because if they hadn’t i wouldn't have learned how to be responsible, how to be good with problems, and how to be responsible for my actions. We may have had a rough time but things are looking up now.

The Rain-Leo Corro

I always hear people complain about the rain. You would hear them say stuff like," Great! the rain is now going to get my car all dirty,"or "Now the traffic is going to be crazy."

I don't see the rain like that at all. I see the rain as the giver of live. The rain reminds me of God in a way because, God gave life to humans, and the rain gives life to alot of things.

I see the rain as a tool that god uses to make things come to life. I mean like deserts are lifeless because there is no rain.

The same way God is important to alot of us so is the rain. I belive the rain is the true key towards life

my friend by anthony huerta

This girl named Kimberly,she looked lovely like a red rose. Kimberly had long black hair that was as shiny as the sun, as straight as a line. Unfortunantly Kimberly's hair kept on getting in the way of her eyes which were the windows to her soul it also covered her lovely face. Kimberly's eyes were slightly slanted she had fangs on the top row of her teeth. Kimberly always used to were a sweater over her shirt I never saw her shirt only once I think but I can't remeber.Kimberly always wore black clothing but she wasn't a gothic girl.I got to know Kimberly due to MESA and Academic Pentathlon. My teacher Ms. Cabrera introduced me to Kimberly in the 7th grade and i was friends with her since then. Kimberly has a great sense of humor,but she never really smiled unless you got her to laught or if you were great friends with her for a very long time.Kimberly smile was lovely but it was very rare to see her smile it is like a hidden beauty within.When I met Kimberly I thought she had everything,but I soon realised that her father cared more for her brothers then he did her.Kimberly's father thought her older brother was the smart one and her younger brother was the athletic one why have another child or care about the one he already has his oldest daughter. The mother of Kimberly was distracted by Kimberlys baby sister. She had her father come and tell her "You are not my daughter!" That day Kimberly was at her saddist point she has ever been. I was their to comfort her by telling her she was a great person as well as telling her that father was stupid to not want a daugther like her. She once went to her father and told him she got an A+ on her test, but he just brought up her brother saying he got a perfect score on the SAT's. I had tried to undo what her father said, but all she was looking for was her father recognition. But from all my Knowledge she still longs to get a good job Kimberly from her father. I can only give so much comfort what she really needs is her father but I can't a fathers recognition.

Geralldo No Last Name-Irene Garcia

I have met someone that lived really far from that i met. In my opinion, even though i hardly get to see her, to me she was like my mom and my best friend. I met her during the summer at Godinez because she was helping coach the girls basketball team for a while. She was the assistant coach for the basketball girls. She liked me the minute she met (me according to her that is). She thought i was pretty weird though at times.

My name by Efrain Segundo the second

"My Name"

My name is Efrain Segundo Orozco, i know quite a mouthful. My mom and dad decided that my dad would name me when i was born. My dad named me after himself, he is Efrain Segundo sr and i am Efrain Segundo jr. . Yes i am a junior and thats what my entire family knows me by not once has my mom called jme efrain NOT ONCE in my life! I both love and despise my name. My i like my name beacuse it is VERY unique, im the only person i know with this name. According to many websites that i have visited my name means "fruitful" which is another word for profitable. Im pretty happy with my name it's u nique, and i get to mess with subs when they pernounce it. My last name Segundo means second in spanish. Sure i get made fun of for my last name but then agian i consider it to be a pretty cool name. The funny story about my name is that i am Efrain Segundo The Second. There is one reason i do hate my name, my father left my mother and i when i was a couple of months old and i will never forgive my dad for that. I hate my father to the point where when i meet him i WILL physically beat him to a bloody pulp for making us go through these struggles, thats why i dont like my name. Everytime i look at my i.d im reminded about him and my anger torwards him. Im never going to change my name beacuase even though i get mad when i hear it, it add fuel to the fire that is my desire to be a sucessful person, and not to be a coward and leave when things get rough. So to make a long story short kids your name dosent make you , you make your name by the actions you affiliate with your name, because as people say actions speak louder than words.

- Efrain Segundo the Second

Clouds Vanesa J.

We had been on the road for 6 housr and we still needed 18 hours more. I felt i had done everything i could do in a car, I had played my brothers PSP, listen to music, and gone to sleep. I started stareing at the clouds and reminded me of a lot of things. One cloud reminded me of sunny which is my pet bird. Another cloud reminded me of my coasin because it looked like a little body and a big head just like my cousin. Also this other cloud reminded me of a cartoon called Spongebob Squarepants. After that I got bored again and fell asleep.
When i had woken up 2 hours had past already. The sky looked gray and looked as if it was going to rain andand soon after that it did star to rain. I then started thinking god is probably watering his plants or something, but when there is thunder and its raining it makes me think god is sad and is crying. I was thankful that god wasn't sad that day because it would have been scary with all the thunder and rain.

Born Bad Sandra Estrada

In this life you are thankful for many things. Its either because you have everything you want ,you have.Or if you dont have anything yo u are greatful for the little things you have. But there things you admire with alll you heart but theirs reasons why you cant admit you do. For example I really admire my parents, and brothers so much but its not easy expressing it. I gues its an ethic and my heritage. But thats the way we are we are not used to it.Its hard to all of the sudden say "I love you, I admire you, I respect you." We might say it once in a while but its not comfortable saying it to them every morning ,evening,and night.But you just know in your head that somehow they know you really admired them with all your heart.

"Changes"- Daniela A.

If I could change or improve anything about my physical appearance, I wouldn't change anything. Why don't i want to change anything? It's because I believe that there isn't anything that should be fixed. I have a nice complexion, an alright body, nice arms and legs. Everything about me is okay. I'd feel guilty if I wanted to be more attractive because vanity is so bad and so many unfortunate people would like to have something I have. For example, people with ambutated limbs would like to have my arms or legs. People with disabilities or other defects would like to be as healthy as me and just wonder in their mind "She doesn't know how lucky she really is." Vanity shouldn't matter, it's what inside that really count. I wish we didn't live in a world that's so judgemental.

Papa who wakes up in the Dark. Corinna O

I have never experienced anything like that before. I have never even experienced watching my dad cry. I think that the day he does, watching him would also make me cry and make me sad. I have seen my mom cry at a death of a relative. It was very hard on for me to not cry but i stayed strong because i new i had to stay strong for her and my little brother and sisters. I think that that experience made me strong as a person and it made me strong through life, because i learned some very valuable things on how to look at life.

Misplaced Doll

As the years progressed for me, i have encountered many things that just didn't belong in a certain place. But the one that impact me the most was a porcelain doll that was still in its original box on top of my mother's closet. The box has never been opened, not even once. The doll just stood there smiling, no matter how harshly it will be treated. As goes for me, i had made a promise to myself, a while back, that no matter how the going gets rough i will always smile. Sometimes it seemed as if she was telling me to please let her down, but i never listened because in a way it made me feel that i wasn't alone in the world. There will be days i will just stare at her and will see that her eyes seemed full of sadness, loneliness, really deep. Much like mine . . . But as the years passed, i began realizing this " In the world you are never alone, you're the one who chooses to isolate yourself from everyone else." As i kept telling myself this quote, i began to open up to people and not be as reserved. Soon i became happier and more friendlier. . . Also there came the day where i took out the porcelain doll from its box. Now that doll may be happy, she belongs to my little cousin. I know this may sound strange, but i feel like a bird that has found an exit to that locked cage.

by: Jocelin Salado

DING DONG DITCH BY ESTEBAN SALGADO

When i was small the favorite game I use to play when my cousins came to my house or we would go to there house.The game was ding dong ditch man those were the days all I could do is just remember them like everybody else.Well ding dong ditch was a game that we ringed another houses doorbell.Man we never got cought we were close but we didnt.the owners of the house when they opened there door they would be like who is knocking on my door.Man that was funny well that is one of my favorite game when i was small.

Papa Who Wakes Up in the Dark

I remember the morning I woke up and thought, today is the day I start to learn to play baseball. I was really excited. My glove which we had bought the day before had finally been broken in by me. I put it under my pillow before I went to sleep and now I could close it with ease. I was supposed to go to the park that day. My dad was going to wake up early and make breakfast. He didn't. At first I thought it was strange and I didn't think much about it. I served myself some cereal and went to my parents room. My dad was dressed and getting his glove. He was about to get the truck's keys when the phone rang. He sat down and picked up the phone. The phone call was short but as soon as he hung up, he broke down. Sobbing he said your grandmother has passed away.
--Sergio v.

"My Name" by Michelle Martir

My mom chose my name. She had a choice of Denise or Michelle. She did not pick Denise because that was the name of my dad's childhood sweetheart. Sometimes I like my name but at times, when someone else has my name, I hate it. I wish I had a name that is not very common or at least a prettier name like Marissa or Giselle. I also thank my mom for not naming me an ugly name. I am glad my name is Michelle and not an ugly name like Pancha or MOLLY!! I have never met a Denise in my life; therefore, I would have liked to be named Denise also.

miguel viramontes 2nd post

when i was really bad in school, my mom wanted me to move withj my dad to try if I would behave better. So I ended up moving with my dad for a whole school year and it kinda sucked. Eventhough it suked and it was really boring I ended up having the best grades I had ever gotten in school. By the end of the year I ended up having straight A's and my whole family was so proud of me and i felt really good. While I was overthere it had some cool parts to living there. The sort of cool things that happend where that I actually started talking to my step-mom who I never thought I would ever talk to her. Some other things that happened that where cool was that I got to hang around with my step sister, brother, and dad and I also got to know them alot better than I had before.

"The Cool Name" Victor S.

My name is Victor which is the same as my father's name. My name means to be victorious or it also means to be a winner. When I was little, people just called me J.R(junior) and I liked that name but when I started Kinder garden everybody called me Victor. When I was in first grade people use to call me Victoria, and/or Vicky and i didn't like it so wished that my name was different. I always wanted to be called "Jeff Hardy" like the wrestler in WWE when I was small. I wanted to be called Jeff Hardy because when i was small my cousins, and me use to watch wrestling together and we would always talk about how cool and good he was. So i thought to myself if i would be called Jeff Hardy than i would be cool and be good at sports. Now I like my name and I am thankful to be called Victor because almost not a lot of people have that name so i think it is unique. I think its Unique because not alot of people that i know or people i've heard of have my name. Also ihankful that I wasn't named a name that everybody has but I think it would have been pretty cool if my wish did come true and I was named Jeff Hardy that would be awesome.

"Darius and the Clouds" by:Joel P.

One time i was daydreaming thatif i lived in heaven, how would it be.Will it be like living on Earth without criminals or just excatly like Earth? i was daydreaming that if i was in heaven,would i be someone else than Joel, or someone else with great power or just another soul that will live there. i have high beliefs that if i live a good life and die i may just have a spot to live there and have a great after life. You can see that i belief in god and heaven but is still don't know if that is all true, maybe one day i will find out. There is no prove to me that all that exist or that god really lived untill one day he may come down from heaven to answer all my questions and untill that day come I'm going to live my life to the fullest. I hope that one day i meet the great holy lord and his kingdom of heaven.

He Is. . .

In life there will always be someone that lives far from you, but for me it is not that he lives far. Instead, he is someone that is out of my reach. I am unable to be with him, but we both believe that faith will bring us together as friends, one day. The name of this person is Alister. I met him because of my friend Kp. Honestly, i have never met Alister by person, only picture. I am unable to understand why he has feelings for me, i am unsure of it, but as for me i feel my feelings towards him are there. I don't understand my feelings yet because it is too early to tell. I am frightened to fall for him or even be with another man after what occur to me few months ago. I wish to see Alister and talk face-to-face with nothing to worry about. I am unable to say what stops him because it is too personal and as well goes for my reason. We do talk to eachother, but not on the phone,our only communication is Kim's phone. We text eachother until one of us has to take our leave. One day we texted from about five pm through one in the morning. As for him, i am as well anxious to await the day we will finally meet. Alister has become someone really important in my life and plays a big role in my heart! He is really special and i really care for him.

By: Jocelin Salado

"Geraldo No Last Name" Alejandra C.

Have you ever had somebody that has lived far from you and you haven't seen them for a long time and you miss them well i have and that makes me kinda sad. These people are my my grandparents they live in Mexico and that is very far for me to See them every single yearand day. Every single time that me go to see them it makes me happy because long time no seen them and its sad because sometimes if you don't go and see them often they might not recognize you that often. That also makes me feel sad for not seeing them like most of my cousins do. That's why probably this year i might see them from about the last two years that i haven't seen them. That's why is not good to have family members that live far away from you because then that doesn't make you see them a lot. But when you see each other doesn't that make you happy well for me it does and then we celebrate with a little reunion with all my uncles and aunts and my cousins.

"Laughter" Fidel Nieves Period 4

I think that families do have similarities because they all have something in common. In my family what I would say that we have in common is our laughter. I say that because all of my brothers don't look alike, my youngest brother is white skinned, my middle brother is chunky, and me i am brownish colored skinned like tan. But when you hear us laugh you can tell right away that we are brothers because we all have a weird accent in our laughter. Also there is something weird because we all laugh at the same things. For example, one time there was one guy running and then out of no where he just fell and scraped himself. So I and my brothers started to laugh and some lady that was walking was just serious and asked him if he was alright. This is one similarity that goes beyond our family and something you can recognize us with.

Our Good Day by Alex Mendoza

I have had an event of which I chose to play with my older friends than my new friends. It was a bright Saturday morning when I finally had a whole day to play with my three new friends that moved from Sacramento to Santa Ana, kind of weird that all three came from the same place at the same time. we met each other at the jack In The Box restaurant right down my home street. They did not have enough money to pay for their meal, so i had to intervene and asked the cashier what they wanted; it was this time when I lost all of my allowance, $15.00 to be exact. We got enough for all of us and decided to eat at my home; this was how we met. During the morning, I had to take a shower, brush my teeth, rinse, and decide what to wear. This process has become an orthodox and life-wasting event that always takes 1 hour of my life span. Finally, I had the chance to tell my parents that I have to go outside and open the entrance door of the apartment building. My friends, two girls (Mary, Elma) and one guy (Juan), brought four bikes so we can ride the riverbed together. On the other hand, Jonathan, Fransisco, Henry and Eduard wanted to waste their allowance to rent movies and buy snacks for food. Both choices were irresistible and fun for me because Juan's idea involved physical requirements and exciting events while Jonathan's idea wanted to do something original, but yet, awesome. I had to go for watching movies and eating snacks with the guys because I am more used to sticking around with what I used to do than doing something that I have not done before, like riding the riverbed. I was 10 years old and i wanted to watch new movies and fill my stomach with food.

Ordinary Human Mistakes… by Ana Boyzo period 6

I am not perfect. I have lived through many mistakes in my life to have definitely learned from them. Mistakes that have changed, and made my life better, but that have hurt others without an intent. Mistakes that I don’t regret because after all, I always learned something new due to those experiences. Luckily I was given the second chance not to commit the same error.
I know no one in this world is perfect but as I walk through this country, I still see people judging and pointing fingers as if they were. In many occasions it all starts as someone insults a person from a different race. As they do this they turn themselves into walking bombs waiting to go off, and when they do, the consequences can turn deadly. They have created their own war, using violence as their weapon.
As I was watching the news one evening I heard about a Latino immigrant that killed an African American. To everyone’s surprise this African American’s mom was fighting in the Iraq war while this incident took place. As every mother would be, she was deeply wounded. She later on proposed a law that required all immigrants to be sent back to their original country (as if it isn’t already happening). What this lady and other people don’t realize is that not all immigrants working in this country are criminals. The truth is that most of them are only here to work from day to night, to only obtain a better life. This Latino immigrant committed a crime and was not given a second chance, but still put a bad image on all other immigrants due to his mistake.
It is sometimes hard to make someone realize that just because someone from an ethnic group committed a crime, all other people in that same ethnic group would do the same thing. After all no matter what race we are, what ethnic background, what views we may have, or what mistakes we make, we are all human. Unfortunately not all humans see it that way.

MAY 5 [MARIA URIBE]..PERIOD 7

May 5 is a festive holiday for Mexicans. On May 5 us, Mexicans usually get the family together eat, get drunk and have lots of fun. May 5 is mostly celebrated in the state of Puebla. It is meant to celebrate the Mexicans victory against the French in the Battle of Puebla. This day is a celebration of Mexican victory and pride. 'El Cinco de Mayo' is a Mexicans version of the Americans 4th of July, because it is a sign of their independence, but the real Independence day of Mexico is on September 16. Cinco de Mayo will always be a family day for Mexicans. =]
-Maria U.

My Name By Gabriel Ramirez Period 4

My name is Gabriel Ramirez. The name has many different meanings to it. Many due to different cultures. Gabriel is a great deal in Roman Catholicism. It means chief messenger of God. Gabriel was appointed master by God. He told the Virgin Mary of Jesus and revealed the Quran to Muhammed. He is also sometimes considered the holy spirit. In the Talmad, he's been viewed as being armed with a sharpened scythe since creation. He told Moses of the great flood and ark, buried Moses, voice of the burning bush, and wrestled Jacob. Gabriel is the left hand of God. Gabriel is also known as the arcangel of war. Ramirez means God's protector and king of kings. I don't wish i had another name because this name has so much meaning behind. Besides i cant think of a better name than Gabriel for a person like me. Plus when people say Gay-Briel, i like to think them as them saying that to an actual angel (no matter what religion)

"Clouds" Aaron Moctezuma

To me everything that was not created by mankind seems to be of a great power, and a lot of times its power is even greater than our own. When i was younger I would stair at the clouds with my sister for hours and hours. i remember that one time i saw a cloud that looked like Mickey-Mouse's head. i got so excited that my sister and I started to jump around the yard yelling "Mickey-Mouse, Mickey-Mouse". I use to imagine being on the clouds and living there. but as I got older, I didn't really want to go up there anymore because I thought that when i came back from the clouds I would be soaking wet.

Elenita, Cards, Palm Water by Allen F.

No I have never believed in superstition because it was all just a fake to trick people into doing the most stupidest things like "don't step on a crack or you break you mamas back" I mean honestly, whoever believes that has some serious issues. I just think that superstition just mess's with people!!! It is also a huge scam to get your fortune from some wrinkly, old lady for .50 cents!

I would never waist my money for some stupid psychics prediction about me being wealthy and having riches untold, just like the psychic told the previous person in line. I'm not waisting a good .50 cents for some lady to look into her fake Crystal ball, which is probably made out of plastic to hear all that crap! Well that's really all I have to say about superstition...its all just a bunch of lies and ridiculous behavior!!!

"Chanclas" by Eder Lopez

Once upon a time..... I had come home from my soccer game, winning 5-0 my mother worriedly sees me tired, exhausted and asks me "Que quieres comer hijo, para que te lo traiga" or in other words "what do you want to eat, my son so I could get it for you"

I tell her not to worried that I will get it my own, but she insisted and finally I gave up and said "alright, I want..... Taco Bell". She promised me, she was going to get my food like I ordered it, while me in the other hand took a long shower. As I came out from the bathroom, I hear a door open from the living room and see my mom holding a Taco Bell bag. I ran to the table and open the bag tried to find my Steak Grilled Stuffed Burrito, but couldn't, that only meant one thing , she forgot! I tried to double check all the bags again but again nothing and in my mind I yelled out, no!!!!!!! I wanted to cry but I knew it was not worth ed , even though some where around my heart disagreed. Eventually I didn't tell my mom about my missing burrito because i didn't want to see her sad nor disappointed. I started eating what I ordered but had a sad face thinking of that lucky person enjoying the juicy steak and beany, Grilled Stuff Burrito. I was kind of embarrassed by how I looked in front of my mom, it was weird and i think awkward for her, so she told me, "Que pasa esta todo bien" "What happen, is everything alright"

I replied with a fake smile "Ohh....nothing!"

When I had finished eating everything, my mom offered me a Steak Quesadilla, she said she was already full and so i took it. When I bit it, it tasted good, it felt as i was in heaven, but also not that good as my Grilled Stuff Burrito, but good enough to eat. I couldn't believe that something that I thought I wasn't going to enjoy I enjoyed it. I was happy because this was new to me, it tasted soft, cheesy, and delicious. Since that day every Saturday or Sunday I would go by myself or with my mom and order a Steak Grilled Stuff Burrito and a Steak Quesadilla and I would enjoy every bite I took.

"There Was An Old Woman Who had so Many Children " -Mike Lopez

I know these kids who are not brothers and sisters but cousins who live under the same roof. The oldest one is the seven, then comes the three 5 year olds, and then comes the two 3 year olds. All of them alike in mischief. My favorite one is one of the five year olds. She is the cutest one and if you saw her you would think she is an angel. She is the most troublemaker that if she saw you smiling at her she would smile because she knows she has a new friend to hit and laugh at. Although they are my nieces and nephews i don't worry as much as i should. I like to play with one or two of the at the same time but not too long or they will follow me and bring me trouble.

Geraldo No Last Name by Ivan Juarez

I have meet a lot of people just like Geraldo. Just like Marin I too see more in them because they are humans too.I believe that they are humans too and shouldn't be treated the way they're always treated. I think that the people like Geraldo do a lot for this country and shouldn't be viewed as bad people. I believe that all the people like Geraldo are just like us, but because of poor economic reasons they come over here to the U.S. They shouldn't all be viewed as bad people because they have a family who need their help to live just like anybody else. Some of them are here to do no wrong, but the ones who do wrong mess up the chances of those who don't. The ones who don't do any wrong need to be here in order to get a better life.

House on mango street.

We didnt always live on Sullivan St. Before that we lived
on king st. on the first corner , and before that we lived on
Parton St. before Parton St. itwas Brown St. , and before
that i cant remember . But what i remember most is moving
alot each time that we moved it was so hard and more of us.
By the the time that we move to Sullivan St. we were six-mom
dad my sister , jose lewis ,and me . It was hard at first and
difficult because of the school or St. were scary. Like what would
happen and if it will be the same everywhere we go. It was cool
ones we get use to it.

Thank you, Gharda Grizzlies

Dear Friends,

I'm still not sure if I should have shared as much as I have on this blog here with you about my personal life, but it's out there and you're starting to sense that my home life has not always been the most stable. This week has continued to be difficult for various reasons, so I haven't had the time to check up on our project here. After a long night with my brother last night, I woke up and decided I better check up on you here, feeling a little anxiety about what I might find. 

There are one or two entries that I'd still like to see adjusted for appropriateness or added detail, but overall, I am so impressed with the way you are all expressing yourselves here. Some of  you are confronting very difficult experiences and it is giving your writing a brutal honesty that is compelling and comforting to your readers, who also suffer. Others of you are sharing delightful details about your life and/or identity that also bring out your writing voices and personalities strongly. 

I can't tell you how grateful I am for all of you this year. It often occurs to me that I don't tell you that enough... and then I forget to. The truth is, I also think you still wouldn't even begin to understand if I remembered to tell you every day. I have always loved my students since I began teaching five years ago, but I feel especially close to you this year. I keep shuddering every time I think about having to say goodbye to you at the end of the year, though I know some of you will feel a lot of relief. For now, please know how much I appreciate, enjoy, and admire you for everything I see you confronting in your actions around school or in the stories you write down. I wish I had time to write a note to each one of you, but for now, I want to send this out before I forget again!

Thank you so much, you guys,

Ms. Gharda

Beautiful and Cruel by Briana Florido

Why do i always have to be the one picked last, why cant I be the one all the boys choose first to be in their team. Oh well, i guess they want them because thier "beautiful", what is beautiful anyways. Is it their lips, their body, their lack of intelligence? Hmm I suppose I wound never know; unless I become one, but I know I wouldnt be one of them even if I tried. My mom said that one day I was going to be the most beautiful girl in school, which I never believed because she always said stuff to compliment me since I was her daughter.I mean isnt it what moms do, make their children feel better by feeding them lies. I always wanted to know how it felt to be pretty. What if i did grow up to be beautiful? Will I still keep my intelligence and my personality? Wow would i want to know that! If I were ever to become pretty the first thing I would do is...get a cute boyfriend, now wouldnt that be every girls dream! They would all envy me and all the boys will be after me. Yes. Maybe my mom is right.

"Papaa Who Wakes In The Morning" Iman Bahrun

This was an awful, windy, and cold day when my dad received a call from his brother letting him know that his mother had just died. The voice of my dad scared all of us, but little did we know what my dad was going to tell us what he had just heard. It was a couple of years ago, when my grandma died, from my dad’s side of the family. My dad just came and told me and my mom and my three little brothers; my brothers were young and didn’t really understand on how this was going to impact on my dad.
It was our first time seeing my dad cry, so I was feeling sad and miserable. When I was talking to him I felt peculiar, as if he wanted me out of the way. In fact, I think almost everyone in my family felt neglected. We tried to cheer him up, but it still didn’t work. My brothers and I were very surprised and shocked by his behavior. My mom was the only one who was sympathetic and gave him some space. I guess that’s all what he wanted just some space.
Later on the week, we had friends and family members come over at our house and ate food and prayed. On the other hand, I still can’t believe that it was my dad crying, MY DAD!

"Born Bad" By Eddy Lopez

Have you ever admire someone and never told that person about it? Well I have had that kind of admiration for my cousin Lorena and why you may ask well is simple, I admire her because of all the courage she had and how hard she tried in school.
My cousin Lorena grow up in Mexico just like me and after she had born her parents didn’t like her and after my aunt had had her she didn’t wanted to carry her, so my mom had to carry her since she was little. After five years had passed her parents hadn’t change a bit about loving her, no while everyone from her other brothers and sisters received the love from her parents she was the only one who was left alone. When my mom and dad came to visit her she was outside the house while everyone else was inside and they asked her why she was outside and she said that her mom didn’t liked to have her around and my parents went inside and decided to talk to my aunt about what she was doing was wrong and after they had talk for a few minutes my aunt told my mom “If you really want her why don’t you take her with you an besides I don’t love her” after saying that, my cousin went into shock and went outside screaming and my dad went outside to get her and told her that he was always going to take care of her.
After twenty years she was going to graduate from a university from Mexico. She was going to start working as a doctor and since at that time she had saw me born she just liked me and every where she went I was always with her and she always was hugging me and kissing me. She was the only one that I admire and wanted to be like her but, after everything was going great my dad had decided that he was going moved to the U.S.A and my sister had to decide whether she was going to stay or was going to move with us, and after she tough about it she decided that she was going to move with us and so we did.
When she decided to start working in Santa Ana she knew that she had to work like everyone else and that was by working with papers that were not hers and so she started to work in a restaurant and after working there for three years she had received employee of the month and she was so happy but, at the same time sad because she had decided the day before that she was going to quit because she wanted to start working on where she liked and that was on a hospital. The day after she received the award she was going to quit but as she went in two cops were waiting for her and they told her that they were going to take her to jail and they did.
My cousin was in jail for three months but she always kept herself strong and after she had done the three months in jail she tough that they were going to leave her free but no they didn’t they told her that she was going to be deported to Mexico. After hearing that she was sad but she said to herself that if she hadn’t cried when her mom didn’t loved her why was she going to cry so she said o.k. now that she is in Mexico and I’m here I think back and say to myself why didn’t I tell her personally that I admire and think that she I the best person that I know and not only do I love her as my cousin no I love her as my other sister.

My (awesome) Name presented by Max S.

I always find myself very interested when my parents tell me why I was named Maximiliano Soria Bravo. I always wondered why my parents decided to give me a very long name. I believe they told me that i was originally going to be named Diego, but a few weeks before I was born my mom heard the name Maximiliano and decided to change her choice of names. My dad also liked the name Maximiliano so he to agreed to change the name choice. Since my name is too long I abbreviated it and made into Max. My parents call me Maxi, but when they get angry at me they say my entire name. That's how I know when I'm in trouble. One day I asked my dad where our last name came from. He didn't know either so we decided to look it up. We found a website and we typed in our last name. It told us that it came from Spain. There is a town in Spain called Soria that is probably where it originated from. My name is pretty unique once you think about it. I mean my first name has eleven letters in it and my last name originated from Spain, so yes it is pretty unique.

"Depression" By Rocio R. Escobedo

Depression

Depression is my disease, a slight fever in my body that won't leave my head. I don't remember when the virus entered my body nor the activity I was doing at the time. Where was the danger in the setting to make me feel this way, make my heart sink low that I can't feel my heart beat to the point where I'm at my lowest, feeling weak and feeling heavy. The first symptom I remember was a frown, one so deep and I couldn't simply put it up as I always do. This one scarred me so deep that I woun't be able to make it look right again. This was definitily hard to ignore. The next thing was the side effect of just wanting to be alone, hide in my mind and wonder into those dark thoughts that have been leaving me nothing but negative messages. They been there since Depression had hit me as if it where pandemic. Depression, yes, that's what I'll blame. I'll blame it and curse it and say its its fault. And I'll try to make myself feel better, trying to use this as comfort as my face gets warm and start to feel dampness on my cheeks.

"BORN BAD" BY ERIKA VALENCIA

I have always admired my cousin Juan. He was like a brother to me, someone who I could trust, someone I have always wanted to be like. He was great because he had so many friends and always went to parties, crusing and still managed to get good grades in school. Me and him always said we wanted to become lawyers. We wanted this because its interesting hearing peoples problems and because you make a lot of money. If only I would of told him that I admired him out of anybody I knew. But now I can't becaus he is gone and I will mever see him again. Sometimes when I'm outside I wonder why I never told him that I admired him, I guess it's the fact that I thought he would think that I was stupid or weird. But because of this I will becaome a lawyer in his memory.

" Those Who Don't "by George Cuadros

I see two ways that someone can fail. If yout tried your'e best or you didn't try at all. If you try it's better that you try atleast you make an effort. I don't like to quit , i'm not a quiter I try at everything that I have to do. School can be very hard and stressful for most of us but if you fail any class or classes you have to try to raise your'e grade up, because in the future you are going to remember and then regret you didn't try your best when you were in school. You might suprise yourself when you see what can happen if you push yourself to the limit. If you never try at anything than whats the point then might as well stop right now . I will try hard to raise my grades up before the school year is over. This is not going to be an easy task . To a lot of students this sounds almost like mission impossible.

Angel Gonzalez

Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water

As a kid I usually played a lot of gmes like card games and other types of games like board games like board games. In my life during my childhood we used to be very supersticious like we used to think that "La Llorona" would come and get you at night. Once when I was in 5th grade these girls were playing with these sticks that supposedly a spirit was guiding and if the sticks moved inward your answer was no and if they moved outward your answer was yes. I once also remember going to a fair and wasting a quarter on some machine that said,"come here I'll tell you your future." I put in the quarter and it told me that love and luck was on my side. Later that day I found ten dollars and got me a girlfriend. I began to remember about the machine and I was tripping out. I really didn't believe that someone or something could tell you your fate until that day but, I still have some doubts.

I Love You --By: Crystal Saenz

Well even though it used to be very hard for me to say it, I admire my mom's boyfriend. His name is Eddie and I've know him for about a couple of years. I still remember the first day I met him. I acted like such a brat towards him. I look back at those days and I can't even figure out why I was mean to him. Maybe it was because my mom had never had a serious relationship before. When I was young she would just go on dates, but I'd never meet the guy. I do regret being mean to him because he is such a wonderful person and to some even a hero. About three years ago he served in Afghanistan. He is reported to go back next year. I admire him so much because he makes my mom happy, and when she's happy she is not mean. I appreciate everything he's done for us and hope he will be okay next year. I don't know how we will survive without him. I love you, Eddie.

The First job, By yair penaloza

In my life, i have been to new places, but new jobs not really. I have only had one job my whole life and that is to work with my dad, as a gardener. The first time I went to work with my dad I thought it was going to be easy, but when I had to wake up a 5:30 a.m. I was mad!
I knew I was going to work, but I didn't know was that I had to wake up that early. I always thought that my dads job was easy. I though he just had to pick out the weeds and plant flowers. But when I got there it was a hot day, there was mostly no planting what so ever. but instead I was pushing machines around all day cutting the grass.
Carrying heavy machines around and blowing the leafs over pieces of the grass. And then being on my knees picking up the leafs. And to top it all off I had to be working under the hot sun.