What are YOU Thankful For?

You sit around the table
chatting with friends, family
The fire is burning, keeping you toasty
Be grateful for this

Passing around loads of food
stuffing, cranberry sauce,
mashed potatoes, gravy
and let's not forget the grand turkey

Merriment all throughout out country
celebration and partying
lasting even after Thanksgiving ends
All the way after the new year begins

Shopping, buying presents for everyone
Spoiling them all with what they want
But giving is better than taking
Be thankful for for everything you're given

Different Worlds

Author's Note: I wrote these two small pieces just to show how much they differ in content, not only because they're opposites but because of the mood of each piece. Each one is sort of a metaphor, for instance in the first piece, the "dark prison" isn't really a prison at all.

I stared up into the bright light, squinting at the sudden change from the dark prison I had been kept in all these years. My hands were freed from the shackles that bound my wrists together, making them sore and raw. All around me, things were coming back to life, blooming and healthy. I felt a new emotion inside of me, one I couldn't describe. Tingling, peppy, alive. One that made the empty space in my chest fill up, one that made it skip a beat.

(Basically what this piece is about is a man who was in depression, but then he finds a love in something and it's like all his interests are returning.)

My heart laid on the ground in front of me. Broken into many tiny pieces that, no matter how much glue you used, would never heal properly. Who was the one that shattered my heart? The very same who won over me almost a decade ago. I stood leaning against the wall, gazing down at the mess. The evil contraption that ran over what was to love. Now my world meant nothing, it was pointless to go on living. I started heading down the road to look for a new love.

(You may think this piece is about his girlfriend/wife, but it's actually about his pet dog, who got run over by a car. Hence "the evil contraption that ran over what was to love.")

Character Development- Katniss Everdeen

Imagine yourself in the midst of what seems to be an endless battle, unknown yet the star. Weak yet strong. Scared yet confident. This is Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old girl who volunteered as tribute for the 74th annual Hunger Games in place of her sister, Prim. After Katniss made the decision to volunteer as female tribute, her life went from difficult and boring in the Seam to hectic in the Capitol before the Games. She and Peeta, the other district 12 tribute, went through intense training along with the tributes from the other districts. This training, along with the actual Hunger Games, molded Katniss into a determined, courageous girl.

At the beginning of the trilogy, Katniss cared only for herself, her family, and friends. She doesn’t let anyone try and help her, to show that she can deal with anything and not look weak. But as the book progresses, she learns to respect human life and appreciate others, and not just people who are close to her. She starts to develop more feelings she never knew she had, like her love for Peeta. During the Hunger Games, when Rue is dying, Katniss sings for her, a song she learned from her father. This shows that she has developed a respect for all humans.

In the second book of the trilogy, Katniss is forced to enter the 75th Hunger Games, a Quarter Quell, which is a Hunger Games of previous victors. She and Peeta are both taken away by the hovercraft, in an attempt to save Peeta’s life. But on their way to the Victory Tour, President Snow tells Katniss that he is keeping an eye on her, and that he doesn’t want to see anymore “rebellious stunts” like in the previous Hunger Games, when Katniss and Peeta are the last two tributes so they attempt to commit suicide with nightlock berries. When they arrive in district 8 on the tour, Katniss discovers that the people are on the edge of rebellion. She decides her Mockingjay pin will become her symbol of rebellion, so she becomes known as the Mockingjay. This helps boost her confidence, to help her become stronger.

But while she and her team are making preparations for the rebellion in the third book, she learns that Snow has captured Peeta and injected some memory-distorting venom into his veins. This meant that all of Peeta’s memories about Katniss would become bad memories. When Katniss finds out that his recovery will be next to impossible, she turns into a cold, angry person. This shows how much she has developed true feelings for Peeta, and cares about him. Katniss’ new mission is to kill President Snow. She gets her wish after the rebellion, but also ends up killing President Coin in the process. This causes Katniss to completely lose it, as in thinking about committing suicide by not eating or drinking, and taking a lethal dose of medication. But slowly Peeta’s mind recovers almost completely, and Katniss returns to District 12 with him.

Katniss never truly changed her personality, just opened up her world to more than just a few close people. But interacting with many others helped her change from a girl who was only set on providing for and caring for her family, to a tough soldier who helped to ultimately save Panem from destruction. She met a lot of different, caring people who helped her open up to everyone else. Even though Katniss sometimes has trouble controlling her emotions, she has developed a lot from when we first met her at the start of the trilogy.

Heaven's Not Fun 3 *Work in Progress*

The previous scene...

     "Wait a second...Alison, is that you? It's me, Rachel." Rachel! I had met her when Kailyn had given me a tour of the city we lived   in. Rachel worked in one of the bakeries, but I hadn't realized she was a spirit binder like me, or all the other people in that disgusting place. I spoke my thoughts.
     "I didn't know you were a spirit binder," I said.
     "I was about to say the same thing to you," Rachel answered. I glanced at Prince, who was clawing at the iron bars of the cell.
     "That's not going to work, Prince," I said, shaking my head in amusement. Then I remembered that I had a paperclip and a bobby pin in my backpack. I fished through the side pocket until I found them. Joining them together, I made a lock pick.
     "All right Rachel," I said. "Let's get you out of there."

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     I wiggled the lock pick inside the rusty lock on the door, while Prince kept guard and watched for the devil. Speaking of the devil, I couldn't see him anywhere. It was like he vanished into thin air, and it was making me nervous. 

     The lock pick wasn't working, and I gave up. 

     "I'm sorry Rachel," I said. "It's not opening." Then I discovered a small jagged piece of metal on the stony floor. I jammed it on the free end of my bobby pin, then stuck it back inside the keyhole. There was a satisfying thunk, and to my delight the lock opened. I caught it before it it the floor, and it was surprisingly heavy. I pulled the door open, and I winced as it creeeeeeaked, because I was afraid the devil would show up and throw me into the cell that I had just gotten Rachel out of. But the whole room still showed no sign of those red, beady eyes.
     "Thanks so much, Alison." Rachel sighed, relieved. When she stepped wearily out of the tiny cell, I got a good look at her. She looked the same as Prince had after I found him, except she didn't have any injuries. 
     "How are you feeling?" I asked.
     "Fine," Rachel answered. I made a disbelieving face.
     "Okay, I'm starving," Rachel admitted.
     "Then why didn't you manifest some food?" I asked pointedly. "All spirit binders can manifest things, right?"
     "Usually, yes, but the devil took away my powers, and everyone else's."
     "Do you know what he did with them?" I asked hopefully.
     "No, but I do know that he has a secret lair around here somewhere, because I heard him talking with one of his henchmen before he kidnapped me and threw me in here."
     "Did you hear him say where it was?" I persisted.
     "I think he said something about a button and a hidden passageway," Rachel answered thoughtfully.
     "Great! Now we just have to find that button."
     "I wonder what it looks like, and where we'll find it?" Rachel asked.
     "If I know the Devil, and I do, he'd have probably hidden it right in the open, but where no one would think of looking," I said, determined.

Casey at the bat: Character Development

Casey was up at the bat, after 2 players had struck out and the next two had made it safely to 2nd and 3rd bases. Casey lets the 1st two balls strike out, but then gears up for his 3rd one. He misses, and strikes out, as evidence shows from the poem: "But there is no joy in Mudville-- mighty Casey has struck out." So the crowd goes wild. Casey was too cocky, and got ahead of himself. His huge ego would just make him more full of himself, so he wouldn't change. 

I think Casey will always stay the same because he has probably been making these mistakes for his whole baseball career. He's so excited/nervous that it's his turn at the bat, and he gets all three strikes. He seems like the kind of person that will keep making the same mistakes over and over again. The poem doesn't really give you a good enough perspective of Casey, more of what he is doing. Casey is too confident, and he thinks he is better than he really is. I think he will stay the same because his huge ego will not ever change.

Casey relates to most boys who play sports, because they almost always have a big ego. They are always confident, sometimes over-confident. Even when something big happens, like they get kicked off whatever team they're on, they usually don't change. They don't really care, because of their giant egos.