Prediction Essay

Lena is just a normal 17-year old girl, living in Portland, Maine, with a government that believes love is a disease. Because of this, all citizens are required to get a procedure, a “cure” that takes away all feelings of love, when they turn eighteen. Ever since her mother gave in to the supposed disease, Lena has been looking forward to the day she will be cured, just 95 days away. But she learns that the was once a time when love wasn’t considered a disease, even thought to be healthy. I believe that Lena is going to bring that back and convince the government that love is not a bad thing, because she meets someone who changes her life and compels her to break rules.
At first, Lena didn't give much thought to the cure and the way the government controlled life. It was a normal, everyday thing. But when her best friend Hana started listening to music not approved by the government, Lena suddenly became curious about Hana's life. When Hana invited Lena to a party, Lena at first objected, but soon became curious, even though she knew it was illegal. She finds a mix of boys and girls, and gets a strange feeling in her gut. Lena sees Alex, an Invalid who lived in the Wilds, at a party while searching for Hana. When regulators find out, Alex rescues Lena by leading her to a closet. After Alex and Lena share a kiss, Lena realizes that she wants to spend her life with him. Of course, him being an invalid, they can't be together. Even so, they meet secretly.

When Lena gets much more comfortable with being around Alex, she tells him about her family. When she mentions that her mom had a special necklace, Alex says that Lena's mom may be alive. He takes her to the Crypts, which is like jail, and finds the cell where Lena's mom was. But when they get there, they find that her mom has escaped by, over a period of many years, scratching a round hole in the wall with her necklace. Now that Lena knows her mom is alive, I think she will do anything she can to find her.

Lena learns that Alex lived in the Wilds, unregulated land outside of Portland. There are no rules there, which sounded really appealing to Lena. She believes her mom ran off to the Wilds, so she would not be found. Lena desperately wants to find her, so Alex offers to escape with her. Lena and Alex plan their escape. But they get caught, and Lena's aunt schedules her procedure to be done early. But Alex cares too much for Lena, and helps her escape into the Wilds.

With Lena’s clever wits and Alex’s quick thinking, I think the two can stay together and successfully live together in the Wilds. The fact that Lena’s mom isn't really dead is driving Lena on, so she can find her mom. Alex desperately wants to be with Lena, and protect her. Eventually, I think Lena and Alex will find a way to convince everyone that love is not a disease, and that they have been living under a blanket of lies for their whole lives.


My ending:
"Mom, when are we getting home?" Lena asked, holding Alex's hand.
"We're almost in Portland. Be patient!" Lena's mom exclaimed, laughing.
"I wonder if it's changed at all since we've been gone," Alex said thoughtfully.
"Oh my gosh, what if it's completely gone?!" Lena panicked, suddenly cutting off all circulation from Alex's hand, which she had been holding for a while.
"Relax, Lena! Remember they show they daily weather reports for the whole area? We just saw one this morning!" Alex said.
"Oh...right...but something could have happened after then," Lena mumbled, clearly embarrassed.
"Look, there it is. See? You had nothing to worry about." Lena's mom had bent back a couple of tree branches and they were now standing directly in front of the fence of Portland.
"We made it! Alex, I can't believe everything's still here!" Lena exclaimed.
"Yeah, I know! Come on, let's go!" Alex said, picking Lena up and running to the fence.

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.

Our Founding Fathers

If you could travel back in time to meet America’s Founding Fathers, what would you tell them? Would you give them advice on how to further help our country, or simply say “good job?” Do they deserve to be recognized for their hard work? Many people don’t even know who the Founding Fathers are. They signed the Declaration of Independence after we won the American Revolution, freeing us from Great Britain. The most important  were George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. They were part of the many men who worked hard to help our country become how it is today.

All of the Founding Fathers worked hard to come together to create our wonderful country. Although they were different, they had one thing in common: They were all leaders. What does it really mean to be a leader? Not necessarily loud, or strong, but respected and confident. These two things are why the Founding Fathers became what they were. Their passion to create a strong government earned them the respect of many.

If the Founding Fathers could see how far their country has come, they would be proud. For example, without them, we wouldn’t have the Bill of Rights, which guarantees us some personal freedom, and limits the government’s power in some areas. Without them, we wouldn’t even have a little freedom, because we’d still be under the rule of Great Britain. Look at us now, creating new technology and ways to make our country even better.

But what if the Founding Fathers had given up? What if they hadn’t been good leaders, and simply said “this is too hard” and walked away? We would still be under the rule of Britain and have no government. Our country would be a mess, and have almost no order. But they didn’t give up, because they were leaders. They worked hard, and that’s what I would tell our Founding Fathers.