American History Looks for Light - A Prayer for the Survival of Barack Obama by Roger Bonair - Agard Discussion Questions: Identify the images used in this poem. You may refer to chapter 2 of Imaginative Writing and your class partner (s) for assistance. Consider how to the images in this poem appeal to the senses of the reader. Identify at least two concrete, significant details. Identify one figure of speech that enhances the ways this poet used images. Be "Reader of a Writerly Kind" In the comments box below, write about one of your favorite images in the poem and why it appealed to you as "a reader of a writerly kind". This answer should only be 2-3 sentences. Best practices include drafting the statement using word software and posting the revised answer into the comments box below.
1. It was a Saturday morning
ReplyDelete2.I walked outside to grabbed the mail with my mom and sister
3. My parents were divorced but my dad was over at my moms house blowing our leaves
4. We saw him laying down with his back on the leaf blower
5. We all screamed and tried to wake him up
6. My mom called 911
7. It felt like forever for them to come
8. My mom followed the ambulance in her car, while my aunt came and stayed at home with emma and I
9. My aunt drive us to the hospital
10. My mom told us that our dad had passed away due to a heart attack and there was nothing that the doctors could have done to save him.
I might start with the end and start it off with, “It was a Saturday afternoon when I walked into the hospital as a little 8 year old girl, and heard the words, “daddy died” come from my mom.” I think this would set a good hook for the story, and then I could go back and add events leading up to the incident
DeleteGrace, this was very touching and intense. This story is probably not easy to write. I appreciate your courage in sharing it with us. - Dr. Hill
DeleteIt was a Saturday afternoon when I walked into the hospital as a little 8 year old girl, and heard the words, “daddy died” come from my mom. I didn’t believe her. It was a shock to both my sister and I. I saw my grandma and grandpa laying by the bed. Tears running down both of their eyes. That when I actually started to believe it. No kid should ever have to go through the loss of there parent. This was the hardest thing that I have ever had to go through in my entire life. It was that morning when my mom, sister, and I walked outside to grab the mail. Although my parents were divorced at the time, being the kind hearted person he was, my dad was over blowing our leaves. We saw him laying down with the leaf blower on his back.
Delete“Oh my gosh did you hear about that girl that got a new car for her fifteenth birthday but complained that it was red instead of white?!”
ReplyDeleteMy roommate and our friend and I decided to stay in and have a chill night to watch movies and cook on a Thursday. We had just finished cooking and I was sitting down to eat when my phone rang for a facetime call from my “best friend”. I answered and her picture was upside down. I told her she was upside down and she immediately started to yell at me that I was upside down, not her. In her voice I could instantly tell she had been drinking and this was going to be a long call. She asked what I was doing and I told her we had just finished cooking and decided to stay in. That was the wrong answer apparently. Over the few years that we’ve been friends, it has become very apparent that she thinks of me as the boring friend and she’s always been the “fun one.” Nothing has changed since going away to school. On this facetime call, she got very upset with my choice, my choice, to stay in. I got hit with, “that’s so boring, booooo, you should go out and live the college life like I do.” Sadly, I’ve learned to just suck it up and take it to get it over with faster, so I just said “ok, but this was pretty fun for me.” The call ended when I tried to lighten the mood by showing her my roommate’s dog in Christmas pajamas and she said, “ok bye,” and hung up before I could say anything else.
DeleteAfter her breakdown Jenny was mute, and didn’t show any signs of emotion. The doctors didn’t really know what happened, but they think she had some sort of overstimulation from her anxiety, and was going through a depressive episode when her brain just didn’t know how to react.
ReplyDelete1.When I was a baby my house was struck by lightning and burned down.
ReplyDelete2. I developed a fear of thunderstorms
3. my dad's new house got struck by lightning as we were pulling into the driveway
4. the electrical pole behind my mom's house got struck by lightning and fell down
5. my house in Florida got struck by lightning
6. lightning is still my worst fear
my dad's new house got struck by lightning as we were pulling into the driveway -Kate henderson
All of this lightening is frightening and seems like such an intriguing story. I am wondering could the lightening be a metaphor for something else in the story? Or if it could act as an allegory. - Dr. Hill
Delete4. We called each other cousins because we were like family
ReplyDeleteAs the only girl ever there, I was once again the last one picked.
ReplyDeleteThis is about to be a great story. In this short sentence you have constructed a history and a future for the story. How will things remain the same for this character? How will they be different? - Dr. Hill
DeleteMy grandmother moved away from my grandpa and lived alone, doing all the work in her own house and not allowing anyone to help.
ReplyDeleteHe looked into the mirror and realized it was himself he hates the most.
ReplyDelete1.We were at school that day and it was the day before spring break.
ReplyDelete2.For me i was only going to be there for half the day because of the main fact I was going to South Carolina that day.
3.I finished up all my work at school and sat there until i got picked up.
4.I sat there patiently and it was still boring. I think that til this day it felt like the longest i had ever waited to leave a school.
5.I ate lunch and went back to my classroom the only thing that was keeping me there was my parents and the bell that dismissed us.
6. I finally got to leave and head to the beach.
1.Last thing on my list was getting to the beach later that night and realizing that it was one of the best for feelings a kid could feel at that time.
2.We went to the beach every night we were there and my mom and dad could see How happy i was
it was a very sunny day in Frankfort ky when my day began it was the day before spring break at my elementary school so everyone was talking about what they were going to do for the break. I was sitting at school all day waiting to get picked up even though I did get picked up early and as I was sitting there it felt like THE longest time I have ever had to wait for something in my life. I finally got picked up and we headed to the beach.
Delete5. One day, I went to go and play with the rat, sticking my hand in the cage. I knew I shouldn’t have messed with him.
ReplyDelete:o
DeleteA moment that defined me, when I wasn't a kid anymore:
ReplyDelete- I went to a volleyball tryout during COVID
- I social distanced as much as possible and put on sanitizer as much as possible
- In the next couple of days, I felt myself begin to get sick
- I lost my taste and smell
- My mom told me that I most likely had COVID but still took care of me
- Then my dad who is high risk got sick
- He started off with horrible coughs
- He was rushed to the hospital and told he had developed COVID and pneumonia
- We weren't allowed to visit him in the hospital and I almost lost my dad for the second time
- My dad getting sick
DeleteHaving to watch your dad get taken away in an ambulance and it being all your fault has to be the worst feeling ever. Knowing that I had one job to do and failed was the hardest pill to swallow. The house was loud after he left. Not from talking or laughter, just my thoughts consuming me. Not knowing whether or not he would be able to walk through the front doors by himself or when he would be back home. But knowing that it was all my fault.
DeleteIt was late 2020, the pandemic had been a topic of discussion for a while now. But no one ever knew the severity of it. National volleyball tryouts were coming up and this would be the first time in four years that I would not be playing national level volleyball. It was an easy yet hard decision to make. It was hard in the sense that I love volleyball and I wasn't quite ready to give it up just yet but it was easy in the sense that I didn't want to almost lose my father for the second time.
Thank you for sharing, Kennedi. This story is very personal and intense. You and the other students that are willing to write and share these events are really trusting of our class community. We appreciate your trust. Thank you for trusting us enough to share. - Dr. Hill
Delete"Wave to your dad!" my mom said. You'd think I was two and this was just the typical baby talk a parent said to their child. Except I was seventeen and waving up to my father in a hospital room. She had my dad on speaker phone and we were talking to him while sitting in an empty parking lot looking at a dark figure standing in the window on the seventeenth floor. How is this my life? A week ago, we were all at home, having in person conversations and now they are taking place through a cell phone.
DeleteAs I peered out of my window to watch the violent storm unfold, lightning flashes erupted in front of my eyes. Bu these weren’t lightning strikes, for the transformers on the power lines had finally been exposed to a torrential storm.
ReplyDeleteStrange how quickly leftism alienates one towards hatred
ReplyDeleteThis is camden hedrick
Delete“Internalized homophobe! Sexist! Ableist nazi son of a bitch!” All those words flashed across my screen, and many more I cannot, and will not ever repeat. Now thats no way to talk to your best friend, I thought. Here I was under the impression that we were in line with one another, that we were forever entangled with one another. And yet you threw all the oil you could, preparing only to throw the match, lit, burning the person who carried you from your lowest.
DeleteShe brutally burns my hand in the bathroom sink.
ReplyDelete4. I told her no, I did really bad
ReplyDeleteZoe Brewer
Making the basketball team after working hard all summer for tryouts
ReplyDeleteLilian Lay
DeleteI love the rain but tonight felt different. The thunder was incredibly louder than usual.
ReplyDeleteHer mentor approaches her with a solution but warns her that there are great risks involved
ReplyDeleteWe were at the bar when they both got up and walked to his room together.
ReplyDeleteWe were at the bar when they both got up and walked to his room. I stood there and watched them walk away together in shock. We had just broken up that day and now he was walking away with my best friend. I had been looking forward to my senior spring break since my freshmen year and now he had ruined it. He was trying to ruin it on purpose because I broke up with him. During our relationship, there was constant bickering. Whether it was over what I posted on Instagram, or who I was talking to at parties, nothing was ever good enough. He was even jealous when I would spend time with my family instead of spending time with him. After months of being hurt over and over again, I finally could not take it anymore. We broke up on the way to senior spring break where I would have to spend an entire week with him. The first night we were there he had sex with one of my best friends. She was a virgin. That night I have never been so hurt and shocked at how someone who had controlled my life for months, could still find a way to hurt me even when we weren't together. After someone puts you through that much pain, the only thing you can think it do is to endure more. I then went and started talking to a guy who was in no shape or form good for me. He does lots of drugs, drinks all day, everyday, and has a sex addiction. I guess I just wanted to be free. It was my way of copping through all of the things that he had put me through. Today, I am still struggling. He is still trying to be in my life and for some reason I give him the time of day. I think I am still damaged and am allowing people to consistently hurt me. I guess I am looking for someone to save me, but in reality I just have to save myself.
DeleteI rubbed my eyes in disbelief because I prayed that if I rubbed hard enough maybe I would wake up and this all would be a nightmare.
ReplyDelete4. A group of boys tried pushing Noora off the top of the monkey bars.
ReplyDeleteThe warm late April sun was glaring on Noora’s face as she sat on top of the monkey bars reading a book. It was her only time and safe place to do so, everybody else teased her for reading. She didn’t realize that the class bullies approached her from below. Five boys, who looked almost identical, smirked at her. They had sticks which they poked her legs and sides with while calling her an “idiot” even though she was much smarter than they were.
DeleteMy mom picks me up from school holding a house key. A key to my new home and new opportunity.
ReplyDelete1. Scared to go down
ReplyDelete2. Full send it
3. Can’t see anything, not even my hand to my face
4. Growing colder the further down and away in the basement i was
5. Getting in my own head, nervous
6. Noises over whelming (washer, dryer, furnace)
7. Dark very dark, eyes can not even fully adjust in the unknown
8. Scared but confident, best pep talk ever to myself
9. Dark silhouette of animal, there was a wolf in my basement
10. Relief (it was my dog Mazy just wagging her tail lookin at me)
I would like to start from the literal middle of my story that comes in at #5 and it hits on me getting in my own head too much in that part of the story.
Jackson Klein
Delete-I am stubborn
ReplyDelete-my mom is an awful driver
- I hate loud sounds
-I get overstimulated easily
-Already hated car washes because they were loud
-my brother broke a lightbulb and the glass got stuck in my foot
-fear of glass breaking from rubber-spinning things
-mom gets us stuck in a car wash because of awful driving
- refuse to go into a car wash for years, stands outside of them
My brother, well I'm assuming it was my brother who broke a lightbulb in the house. It was that or some ghost conveniently decided to frame my brother for breaking a lightbulb. Which I'm sure he tried to convince us of. In an attempt to dodge the glass, I tried to make a stealthy move onto the bench. Yet I lacked the stealth I thought I had and slipped into the glass. So there I sat thirty minutes later as my mom tried to pull all of the shards out of my foot.
Ellie Terrazas
DeleteI stood by the old vacuums, waiting patiently for my mom to exit the car wash. I had not stepped foot in a car for almost two years. I knew I would have to eventually. But due to past events, especially when my mom was behind the wheel, I was perfectly content with standing outside. although it had been two years, my story with carwashes began pretty much the day I was born.
DeleteWhen I was younger I had gotten a severe concussion from falling off of brick stairs. I was taken to the hospital and got scanned for everything. I don't remember it very well because I was so young and kind of erased it from my mind.
ReplyDeleteI would rewrite this as,
DeleteI was about 3 years old and I would never expect what was about to happen. I was following my sister on brick stairs and all of a sudden my shoe was stuck in the brick as I jumped. I then had fallen straight into the bricks. I was taken straight to the hospital and got scanned for everything. I had gotten an indent in my head and was taken for more scanning. I ended up having a really bad concussion and had to take time off for a few weeks.
I was told to take a few weeks off. I wasn't told but my parents were told that they needed to keep me away from any bright lights or tv. They did not want my concussion to be even worse than it already was. I had slammed my face right into the bricks. My shoes had gotten stuck because I was following my sister on the brick stairs. I would never have expected for this to happen, I was only 3 years old.
DeleteIt was earlier in the day maybe mid day. I was playing around with my sister. My parents were watching us. My sister had gotten up on the brick stairs and I decided to follow her. My parents were not happy we did this and told us to get down. So, my sister had jumped down and I followed her. Then as I had jumped my shoe which was a croc had gotten caught in the brick stair. I fell straight down and hit my head. Ever since then I have learned to not wear crocs.
DeleteShe woke up to the sound of her phone ringing and answered it to hear her best friend sobbing and admitting what she had done
ReplyDeleteThey talk for the first time across a fence about flowers with the sun shining down on them.
ReplyDelete-Bella Hardin
ReplyDelete1.)We met at my friends house with supplies to camp for a few days
2.) We hike for a few miles in the middle of the woods, trying to find a good place to settle down
3.) A storm cloud is coming, so I think it would be best to set up my tents, my friends wanted to start a fire. I set up 3 tents by myself, just in time for when the rain came down. My friends fire got washed out.
4.)Once the storm passes, we star cutting wood for a fire, setting up camp and start playing games while clearing the woods so we could comfortably live there
5.) We make Dinner on the fire, tell stories and sing songs.
This camping trip was a major bonding moment for my firendgroup
The sky was blue
ReplyDeleteThe clouds were grey
My best friend of 10 years was leaving
The moving truck came
The boxes were being moved out
The tears were flowing out
The though of us being states apart was terrifiying
We stayed in touch
Shes had two visits since then
They never feel the same
Knowing she is on limited time here.
The moving truck came. The feeling was unreal. I have never felt something like this before. I was totally indenal. Already planning when her first trip back home would be. My bestest friend of 10 years was moving to colorado. I rememeber the day I found out, I have just gotten of the school bus, my grandma was at the bus stop, waiting to get me. She then told me this news, that she had just found out from my mother. I was crushed. We did absolutly everything together. I did have other friends, but she felt more like a sister to me than a friend. Her family was also so strict, so she always loved it when she would be with my family because it was a different atmosphere. She moved the summer going into 6th grade. I had also ended up moving that same summer, but not across the country, just 3 mintues down the street.
Drew Pennington
DeleteI looked to her and saw nothing on the face of someone who was supposed to protect and love me no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI realized I didn't want to be with him anymore but I didn't want to hurt him
ReplyDeletewe didnt talk for a month
ReplyDeleteHe didn’t talk to me for a month. Even though I knew I did nothing wrong and I should be mad at him for his actions, I was hurt. The dad I once knew to be loving and cared about his only daughter was gone. I felt little, wondering why did I care so much about how he felt about me. I sat in my room, I could hear him laughing with my brother in the room next door and saying goodnight and when he left, he would walk past my room without even looking in.
DeleteI was confused at first, wondering who this man was. He was kind and cared about me and the people around him. There were no arguments or tension. This wasn’t the man I had known 5 months ago. I came home after being put for a while and he asked me if I wanted anything to eat and that he’d make me something. I hadn’t seen him make anything besides peanut butter and jelly and nachos my whole life. I told him I wasn’t hungry but thanked him for offering and he got up off the couch. He walked over to the fridge and started listing out things I could eat. I declined everything and he walked over to the pantry and did the same thing. I wasn’t home much but when I was it was like his whole personality shifted. The fact that he was so different made me question if this is how he’s been the whole time I’ve been gone or if he’s only acting like this because I’m home. I asked my mom, who has been very brutally honest with me about my father and their relationship and she told me that he truly has changed. Even though I felt immense guilt for what I had done, I knew in that moment that I had saved my family.
"What did I do to deserve this"
Middle school was a horror show for my family. Not only were my siblings and I forced to restart our lives again because we went to school in a upper middle class area where we knew nobody, but we started to learn about ourselves. Drastic change can result to an all time low for some people, which is exactly what happened to us. I can’t act like I’ve had it the worse, because I seen it for myself that my older sister was barely hanging on. With parents like mine, they don’t believe in depression or anxiety, they think it’s all make belief. With religion and traditional Mexican values coursing through their blood, their best idea to get rid of these “thoughts” were to take us to church and forgive our sins. Even with the church trips, nothing has changed, we were never happy. My sister had the courage to ask my parents if she could go to therapy and they laughed at her face. I knew from that moment that everything was going to chance, I had a gut feeling. And unfortunately, I was right. It was a Friday afternoon, school was almost to an end and I was getting ready to go home, until I got a phone call. It was from my counselor, who I’ve never spoken to. She came to me quickly to break the news that my sister is in the hospital for an attempted suicide. It felt like the world just stopped, I was too shocked to say anything back to her. I just think back to myself how my gut feeling was right, and how I wish it wasn’t.
ReplyDeleteHe said to me, “Libby, you are in so much trouble!” I already knew that. My friends and I broke the window. He was pissed at us. The weather was hot and muggy. It is miserable in Florida heat when you don’t have a pool. His thought was probably, “I am going to have to fix the window since they don’t listen and basically disobeyed my rules of not throwing balls in the house.”
ReplyDeleteAll of a sudden, my mom stops letting us visit the person I admire the most
ReplyDeleteMy fear of snakes
ReplyDelete1. I got home from school and sat my backpack down on the kitchen table
2. I ran to the kitchen to grab a snack from the pantry
3. I went outside and ate my snack on the hammock
4. I went to my backyard to explore the pond
5. I bent down to pick up a rock from shallow end of the pond
6. A snake popped its head up and slithered up onto the ground
7. I screamed like a baby and sprinted inside
8. My dad went outside to try and find the snake
9. It was nowhere to be found
10. I was never able to go down to the pond by myself ever again
"AHHHHHHHHHH DAD COME HELP ME!" In that very moment watching the scary, slimy, slithering snake pop its head up at me was absolutely horrifying. Our eyes made direct contact and it felt like that snake was going to jump up and bite my face off. It was a horrifying feeling not knowing what to do in the moment. I kept thinking to myself "Should I slowly back away or should I run away as fast as I can?" My immediate scaredy cat little girl instinct was to book it back to the house. I seriously don't think I have ever ran that fast in my entire life and quite frankly I don't know if I could ever run that fast again. The protagonist thoughts in my head told me not to flip out because maybe the snake was actually more scared of me than I was of the snake. People always say that this is true but I don't know how much I actually believe that. After catching my breath and calming down inside the house my dad, who fun fact is just as scared of snakes as I am, braved himself to face the snake down by the pond. He grabbed a garden hoe and made his way through the yard. As I peeked my head out the kitchen window I noticed that my dad didn't get much action out there. The snake was nowhere to be found. I don't know if my dad was relieved that the snake was gone so that he didn't have to see it or more scared that the snake was gone not knowing where it ventured to next.
"She got a scholarship for a boarding school 400 miles away."
ReplyDeleteAt the time, It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I had to say goodbye to my friend of 10 years, well at the time, we had been inseparable for seven years. But, I knew she needed this, she needed to get out of her house, away from her parents, I knew she would thrive. But I felt like I was losing apart of myself, but thank god I did. At the time I was losing a sister, my rock, the person I had been through everything with. However, she didn't stay away as much as I thought. It was like a shadow of her followed around my friends and I. Even with her 400 miles away, I was still playing second fiddle to her with my closest friends. Yeah I was enough for them during the school year, but summers and breaks? they were all about her, and after 10 years, I was over it.
We met in the same 2nd grade class.
DeleteShe lost her lunch box, so I helped her find it.
She had a house fire.
We basically lived together after that.
We were like sisters.
She came with me to my dads house every weekend.
She moved back into her house, two streets away.
We trusted each other, it was us against the world.
We liked the same boy.
She dated the boy.
I had a house fire.
I was in her shadow.
I liked another boy, the boy liked her.
She got a scholarship for a boarding school 400 miles away.
I still felt like her shadow.
She went away to school.
She came back home.
She started dating our best friend.
I liked him too.
While they dated she went after another guy I liked.
She went away to school.
I was angry, she didn’t care about us.
She came back, I pretended everything was okay.
She left, she broke up with our friend, I was over it.
It took another six months before I finally dropped her.
I moved on.
The summer love, it is what you hear about in all the movies. This was what was about to happen to me right now. Standing on the abandoned Course during the peak of sunset, I was being kissed by HIM. The boy I met two weeks ago, the boy I instantly fell for. The second his lips touched mine I knew that this was going to be a feeling I will never forget.
ReplyDeleteThe weather was so hot out that day that Barry felt his skin boiling as he marched up the street. He was awake the entire night thinking of things to say to Lisa's father. He wanted to demand him to give his blessing. Lisa didn't care about her father's blessing anymore, but Barry still did and with that, he shoved his body through the front door of their rustic little store but soon came screeching to a halt when his eyes locked with hers. The scent of warm vanilla was seeping out of the walls and overwhelmed him. Within an instant, Barry forgot what he was doing there until the anger bled back into his heart when her father stepped out of his office.
ReplyDeleteAbby Ford
1) It was a warm summer day
ReplyDelete2) the breeze was gently flowing
3) the team drove on the gravel road leading to the parking lot
4) today's run was for shillito park
5) we began to warm up and stretch
6) I was required to run 7 miles that day
7) five miles in, everything felt fine
8) the sixth I knew i wasn't okay
9) the pain set in, and I knew exactly what it was
10) the next day, the doctor diagnosed me with a stress reaction
11) once again, discouraged and starting from square one
I started working there 2 years ago
ReplyDeleteQuickly, I moved up financially, but never in a higher position than a line cook/server.
They trust me to start working more independently.
Never called in sick
The only time I was unable to come in was when my car broke down.
No other time in 2 years did I call in sick or get a shift replaced
Agreed upon school/work balance (school comes first)
(second year starting) Agreed with the boss for 2 bonuses: 1 for fall and 1 for spring.
A new manager comes in.
I start getting breaks and am able to eat when I’m there.
We get close, then we fall out
I no longer get breaks or any help at my station
Finals week: I get sick
Stress: working 60+ hrs/wk, no help, no break, 12-15 hr days
She came in and I allowed her to work. As 7 managers have come and gone before her, I observed to see how they worked. At first, they didn’t think I liked them. Then we start communicating at work and she realizes it’s nothing personal, she’s just another manager. Work is great, I’m being heard and my ideas are being heard. We get close but a few months later, we are no longer on speaking terms. Tension is high when we had to work together or even communicate with each other. The weeks prior to finals, I request off for studying. It was only that weekend before that I needed off. They said yes, then went back on their word. So I worked, once again with no help, no break, final exams the next day, and now with the stress of a hostile work environment.
DeleteTimeline for short story:
ReplyDelete1. Barn is built and used for tobacco, then later tractor storage when my grandpa takes over the farm
2. First saw the barn from afar when I was little, before I started to even walk out to the barn
3. Played in the playroom in my grandparents’ basement with my sister. We would play Barbies, dress-up, play pretend. We would sometimes play school or library and “check out” the books on my grandma’s bookshelves.
4. We found a book of old country folk and fairy tales and began to read it, eventually we got to a story called “Blue Beard,” which was about a cruel husband who killed his wives whenever they disobeyed him.
5. We began to retell the story to our little cousins, telling them that Blue Beard was going to get them if they went to the scary place (the barn).
6. We started to get a little paranoid of the barn, especially when we were alone there and it was starting to get dark.
7. We started to explore the barn more, finding hidden parts of the building like the secret door and the creaking gate to the back lot that was fenced in next to the barn.
8. We let the story and legend of Blue Beard in the barn grow the more we explored and could add more parts to the story, even if those things were not in the original story that we read in the book in the basement.
9. We noticed that the black wood on the front of the barn had weathered away in the abstract shape of a skull, thus confirming our fear that Blue Beard lived there.
10. We stopped playing in the barn when we got older, choosing baseball or fishing to play pretend in the barn.
11. We stopped telling the Blue Beard story seriously, only mentioning it when we recollected times from the past.
Telling the story from the middle point (#5):
After my sister and I read the spooky story of Blue Beard in the book of fairy tales from our grandma’s bookshelf, we began to retell it to our little cousins. We told them that a murderer was going to get them and lock them in a pen with a bloodied key if they went to the barn. It helped that barn was termite-ridden and leaning to the side, its blackened wood creaking in strong winds. Just to stand at its base and look into its face was frightening enough to make any kid wary of her surroundings.
It made no sense of course, first of all because there was no man, but also because the Blue Beard in the story lived in a castle on the sea. His closest of corpses of wives past stood at the top of the tower, and the only person he seemed to want dead was the wife that was still breathing.
Telling the story from the end point (#11):
DeleteOnce upon a time, my cousins and I were all wild and carefree. We would spend hours in my grandma’s backyard, playing in the spooky old tobacco barn with its creaky joints and dusty floor. We created new worlds with different villains—we were always the heroes. We would play until the sun told us go inside, go see Grammy, Blue Beard’s gonna get ya.
Blue Beard was the resident barn ghost that we had conjured after reading a story about the murderous man in a book of fairy tales in my grandma’s basement. We made his character larger than life, claiming that all of the scary things that happened in the barn was because his ghost was getting angry.
We’ve since stopped telling the Blue Beard story seriously, only mentioning it when we recollected times from the past. It’s a fond memory of ours, thinking about how we scared ourselves silly over a bearded ghost that killed his wives. I still remember running out of the barn after a long day of play, my sister and my cousin steps behind me as we sprinted back to my grandma’s house, all the way screaming, “HURRY! HE’S GONNA GET US! BLUE BEARD IS HERE!”
“As the window shutters were closed, she at first could see nothing; but in a short time she saw that the floor was covered with clotted blood, on which the bodies of several dead women were lying,” I read aloud, my voice getting lower as I read the next sentence.
Delete“These were all the wives whom Blue Beard had married, and killed one after another.”
My sister’s jaw dropped, her wide eyes were caught in shock. She pulled the old patchy quilt around her a little tighter, as if she was anticipating Blue Beard to jump out of the book of fairy tales I was reading to her and my cousin, Reece.
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ReplyDelete1. My friends meet him in middle school playing sports together
ReplyDelete2. We meet freshman year of high school
3. We have several classes together freshman year, and become friends
4. Sophomore year, we interact more due to me playing football
5. Spring quarantine happens, and I don’t see anyone for several months
6. Our football coach quits, and his dad takes over
7. Summer practices start up, and his entire personality changes
8. He continues to become more and more obnoxious as junior year passes
9. By senior year, he has become one of the most arrogant human beings I’ve ever met
10. I ended up changing my college plans because I did not want to end up at the same school as him.
Robert Goebel
DeleteI have a fear of big bodies of water and closed spaces
ReplyDeleteBig bodies of water
- when I was younger I saw a movie where these people drove off the road into the water and died
- I get anxious when I fly or drive over a big body of water
- when I went to the zoo one time they had this net thing where you are literally on top of the water with all these holes in it
- there were multiple kids on it and they kept jumping and I feared that I was going to fall off into the water
When I was at the zoo one time they had this net thing where you are literally on top of the water with all these holds in it. Below is a huge body of water that connects to a river. There were a lot of kids on the net as well jumping around but all I could focus on was the water. Don't get me wrong, I can swim, but the last place I wanted to be was in the dark blue water below that I could not see the bottom of.
There were multiple kids on it and they were jumping all over. Their jumps caused me to be unsteady no matter how hard I was holding the net. Once I snapped out of my tunnel vision I began go look for the quickest way to get back on the playground. There was no clear sight, just multiple pairs of legs in my face. Like any other kid at this age would do, I began go cry. Not a bug cry but a little because I was scared to death.
Starting at midpoint #8
ReplyDeleteI had just gotten home and was joining my brothers at the table to do my homework. I was unsure where my dog was, but didn’t have any courage to ask. I thought that the answer was too dangerous for my health. Mentally that is. After we all finished eating dinner, I asked my mother where my dog was. She proceeded to tell me that he had passed away earlier that day. I knew that he had been sick for the longest, but it was still hard to deal with. I ended up staying in my room for the next week, not leaving for anything, not even food or water.
We tried to talk it out. I wanted to forgive them, especially her. We had been best friends since the sixth grade, we had been through everything together, but I never thought we would go through this. I loved her with my whole heart. And him. I loved him too. I said it to him everyday for the past nineteen months. I reminded him everyday, and yet somehow he forgot. He forgot about the promises and plans we made. I did not want to lose the two most important people in my life at the same time, but I had no choice. We tried to talk it out, I tried to forgive, but I couldn't.
ReplyDeleteI met Katie on my first day of sixth grade, we were both the new girls and we immediately clicked. We ate lunch together every day, walked laps around the field during recess, and sat as close as possible to each other in every class. Our friendship was strong since day one. Our friend circle began to grow as we got older, we got along with the same people and while we both grew closer with other people everyone knew that it would always be Katie and Maria. We graduated the 8th grade and went one to the same high school together. We were so excited for high school, we had spent years watching clique high school movies and shows and could not wait to live it out.. Sure enough high school came around and it was nothing like the movies.
DeleteWhat was once of my favorite places to hang out and play became a place that I never wanted to go back and revisit. The pond in my backyard was a safe place for me. It was so fun and exciting. There was never a dull moment for my elementary school self when I was down at the pond. Still to this day I am absolutely terrified of going down there alone. My dad tried to make things better. After all these years he still tells me that I am more brave than my biggest fears in life. That snake I encountered was never found. Imagining it slithering between the rocks so very close to my feet gives me cold chills. Watching my dad head down to the pond with the garden hoe being so brave and strong I remember thinking that I could never face that snake again. Screaming at the top of my lungs probably scared the snake just as much as it did my dad from inside the house. Looking down and seeing that snakes head pop up at me was like something you see out of a horror movie. Now that I think about it, it was my own real life horror movie. I picked that rock up with so much joy. Expecting to find nothing but rocks and moss. It's honestly crazy to think about how quickly things happen. This happened in the blink of an eye. It seemed as if I had just walked down to the pond after eating my snack on the hammock just moments after getting home from school. Mysterious things happen in such a short amount of time. That snake didn't know I was coming and I didn't know that it was coming either.
ReplyDeleteHe looked into the mirror and realized it was himself he hates the most. The way he praises people that have torn him down, the way he would continue an argument after losing cause he couldn't be wrong and, the way he would leave others before they could leave him because he was scared of being hurt. These are what he hated about himself but they were some of his greatest qualities. He saw the good in the people that hurt him, he wanted to help them as much as he could even if they did him wrong. He never backed down for what he believed even if everyone was against him.
ReplyDelete-My grandparent's basement always scared me because it felt like a cellar and it was really dark. At the end of the basement, there was this cozy little movie area. My grandma watched movies with us in her dark and scary basement, but this makes it not scary down there
ReplyDelete-I made many good memories watching movies with her
-I could only go down there with her, never by myself because it was too scary
-My grandma passed away when I was nine years old
-I don't have my grandma to come with me into the dark basement, so it's now too scary
-I haven't gone in that basement by myself since she passed because even though I'm older, it still represents a very scary place, since the last time I was down there was when I was nine with my grandma.
- Best friend of 13 years. We met when we were 3.
ReplyDelete-Grew up together, hung out almost everyday, and took family vacations together
-We’re next door neighbors
-We got into an argument that was rooted in kinship
-Our families met and had a discussion about it
-We experienced a disconnect and stopped talking
-Since we had no communication and no closure to the issue she began to spread false things about me
-I lost a group of friends along with her causing me to develop trust issues
-In the end showed me how to show up for myself and to continue taking the high road. Learned that it’s okay to be alone and that time spent with yourself can be valuable.
I walked into their house and it was silent. Both of our families had a solemn looks on their faces along with with a deep sense of pain. We greeted each other, but it was awkward. We couldn’t ignore the fact that the night before we were all being irrational, and refusing to come to an agreement.
“You can tell me anything,” she said. I confided in her and trusted her. Then she betrayed me. During this time, I was in a friendship with two other girls and they took my best friend’s side without giving me a platform to share my own perspective. It was the year of 2020, and several issues were playing out in America. It was the height of the pandemic, as well as the height of the Black Lives Matter Movement. They assumed that I wanted nothing to do with them because of the circumstances in the world during this time. During these tough times they failed to show up for me and support me. Someone had told them that I said hurtful things behind their backs, which was untrue. They didn’t make the effort to come and talk to me about what they had heard. Throughout this relationship I began to realize that the people I had surrounded myself with were not true friends. When faced with struggles they backed down and refused to engage in healthy conflict.
“Would you like to be best friends?” It was as simple as a question. I experienced the joy of pure, platonic love for my entire adolescence. The feeling of having someone who you can be your truest self around without fear of judgement is one of the best feelings in the world. Without romantic feelings attached, you begin to form a bond centered around protection and comfort. Having a girlfriend to experience your teenage years with is so fun. I grew up with this girl and we did life together. She was always by my side and I was always by hers. I would’ve done anything for her and I was genuinely excited to see her everyday. Even after she wronged me I couldn’t form a negative thought about her in my head because I had so much love for her already.
DeleteIt was the early spring of 1975. Lisa had spent the last year trying to convince her father to come to her wedding.
ReplyDelete"Just walk me down the aisle daddy."
He would never answer her. Her father was furious that she was getting married to a divorced man but what I never understood is that he is in his second marriage also. Lisa spent that last day begging him but he never did budge. She was in tears the entire night but none of that mattered anymore on April 3, 1975. Lisa was finally going to be my wife. The ceremony was absolutely gorgeous, flowers were streaming from every wall around us. The pastor spoke beautifully. But none of that could have saved Lisa from was what to come. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was time for the first dance, Lisa's long flowing gown circled us as we moved, I held her tight until suddenly the music cut and screams erupted from the crowd. Lisa panicked and demanded to know what happened, that's when Lisa's mom ran up to her and fell into a puddle of tears, your father has died.
Abby Ford
Starting at last point #15
ReplyDeleteI hadn’t left my room for a week. I just previously found out that my dog had passed away. I knew that he had been sick for the longest, but there wasn’t anything that we could do for him. I knew that his time was going to come eventually, yet I was nowhere near ready for it at all. I was just sitting in my bean bag chair, on the floor, in the corner of my room. After being stuck in the same place for 8 days, my brother walked into my room. He helped to pick me up, physically and metaphorically.
Wind howled and the sun went away foreshadowing a potential thunderstorm. Millions of rain drops begin to fall as the thick, gray clouds can no longer hold the water. Along with the rain came cracks of lightning and rumbles of thunder. This thunderstorm interfered with outdoor activities taking place that day. Children had to evacuate swimming pools, umpires had to postpone baseball games, golfers had to move their tee times, etc. The rain continued to fall for the next hour. All hope was lost. The day appeared to be quite literally a wash. Luckily, no bolts of lightning caused the power to go out. People began to enjoy their days inside. Video games were played, movies were watched, and houses were cleaned.
ReplyDeleteAll of a sudden, the rain clouds began to dissipate. The sun returned to its rightful place in the sky. Birds began to chirp again. Slowly, people returned to their outdoor activities. Splashes could be heard from swimming pools as kids jumped back in, umpires yelled "play ball!", and golfers tee'd off. Streets and sidewalks began to dry up, for the rain began to evaporate. The nice weather would not be taken for granted again because it is only a matter of time until the next thunderstorm.
She now works at the local Ice cream shop where every time you go everyone knows each other. She started working there roughly my sophomore year and after she graduated high school. I pulled up to the window with all my friends in my car there she stands working the drive thru. She starts off with how can I help you then proceeds to say “hell no someone else go to the window I am not serving this bitch.” Not very professional for a 19/20 year old to state to a 16 year old but I was used to it from her.
ReplyDeleteWalking through the hallways of Spring Valley High School as a freshman with my head down was something I got used to because of her. If u know me prior to this situation that was never me. The senior girl my first love cheated on me with trucked down the freshman hallway to shoulder check me and meet my ex boyfriend by the lockers. If she was feeling good sometimes she’d leave out the hit and just call me a “bitch” under her breath, someday’s it was both but everyday it was by the stairs of the freshman hallway that I couldn’t avoid but she could’ve. It must’ve been a highlight of her day to go see her 15 year old boyfriend and hit his 15 year old ex on the way there.
“I love you, I would never cheat on you.” Words from my first “real” relationship I chose to believe but were not true. I was on vacation and suddenly there was a shift in my boyfriends actions that threw me off but I never thought that he would’ve done what he did with who he did it with. My family was in Florida for fall break my freshman year of high school when I was in a relationship for 2 years through middle school to high school and I thought I would marry him because I was delusional and I don’t even think I knew what love was but the main idea I had of it other than my family was him. We were as serious as 15 year olds could get until he cheated on me with a senior girl who then made it her mission to ruin my freshman year.
“Why do I have to do this, I am the pungent in the house, the most capable of getting lost, why me?” Jackson whispered under his breathe, his hand rested on the basement door glass handle. “You know what, lets just do it, F**K it cmon lets go, move your legs” Jackson whispered to himself again. The glass door creaking open louder than you could even imagine, almost as if the door was bass boosted and on a Bluetooth speaker for the whole house to hear, and when that door opened I had a black endless pit starring right back at me in the face, and I had come to a choice, to continue on or to retreat, “Klein’s do not retreat from challenges but welcome them regardless of if they are at the disadvantage” I whispered yet again. The shows in which I was watching had a lot of bravery within them but also had fear and I was still learning how the played hand in hand together.
ReplyDelete"What do you mean my father is dead?"
ReplyDeleteThe tears streamed down my wife's face. I didn't know what to do, we had only been married for thirty minutes and now we have to plan a funeral together. The anger and sadness that she felt towards her father were almost tangible. He died on her wedding day. The day that he refused to attend because she was marrying me, a divorced man. My wife was not the same after that day. Occasionally the anger would seep back into her heart and she would say he died because he didn't want to attend his own daughter's wedding for hypocritical reasons. Personally, I wasn't sad that he was gone, I was sad because my wife was sad.
Abby Ford
ReplyDelete5. What we did not know was school and time management was going to be a huge problem in our relationship
As Senior year started we both were trying to understand each others new schedules. We were so used to seeing each other everyday over summer. I am the kind of person were school and my family always come first. They are my two main responsibilities. I would come home, do my homework, go to the gym, eat dinner, shower and then go to bed. This was my routine and has been my routine my entire high school career. Now I have to add my boyfriend into the equation and make time for him too. Instead of understanding my crazy life of constantly driving my sisters to soccer practice and going to work 4 days a week Nate would always complain about me never having time for him. When trust me I tried so hard to see him everyday, but at some point every day was too much. I was not even making time for myself. I was constantly feeling overwhelmed and stressed and Nate instead of being there for me and supporting me was only adding to my current state.
“Do you want to break up with me?" "Yes." One word, one word that is all it took. I had spent a whole week trying to figure how I wanted to break up with him and all it took was one question and one word. This was not the time or the place to be having this type of conversation, but it’s like I did not have control over the words flying off my tongue. It was Halloween, a night solely dedicated to be someone else, and that is exactly what I did. He was completely out of his mind drunk, could not walk on his own two feet to save his life, screaming at the top of his lung cursing me out for wanting to break up with him. However, even though he was acting like a complete asshole, there was this immense amount of self worth and confidence coating my entire body like butter on toast. I had finally hit my breaking point in this relationship. It was the first time I chose myself in that relationship. It was very hard for me to break up with Nate because I was loosing my best friend. However, looking back on it he was no the same person I had met 9 months ago. The first time we ever hung out he was an absolute gentleman. We walked around a forrest preservation and we eventually stopped in an area where these huge trees were. He hung up a hammock in the trees and we sat out there for hour talking and getting to know each other. I learned a lot about myself throughout this relationship and our break up. I realized that I was not being treated how I deserved to be. This was my first real relationship and I was lost and struggling to find a way out that was not going to create so much drama not only between us, but our friend group. My best friend Ava asked me a question that changed my entire perspective. We were going on our daily drive to Starbucks blasting Taylor Swift with the windows down on a very warm fall October day. I was mid song singing to the best of my ability when she hit pause and had this look on her face that I had never seen before. She asked me. “Hanna does the bad out weigh the good?” I was more confused in that moment than I have ever been on any of my math homework. She stopped me in my tracks with a single question and not because I did not know the answer to her question it was because I could answer her question in .5 seconds with one word, yes. I proceed to bawl my eyes out with tear drops so big rolling off my cheek making my pants sopping wet.
He came out of no where stumbling over his own two feet. One second I am singing and dancing with my friends and the next I am being pulled all the way outside next to a try by my boyfriend. I immediately can tell that he is in a rare form. His demeanor is very tense and the smell of alcohol off his breathe is piercing my nose. I have absolutely no idea what he is about to say, but when he finally says, "Do you want to break up with my?" I am shocked, but I am ever more shocked at my own response, "Yes."
1. my mom and i visited new york city for the first time when I was 8
ReplyDelete2. Took a cab to our hotel, almost threw up
2. we stayed in times square
3. we went out and the streets smelled like urine, trash everywhere, and witnessed a cop chase and crimes
4. went for pizza
5. on way back to hotel an elmo character came up and harassed me
6. went back to hotel room and cried
7. didnt leave hotel for the rest of the day
8. went to ellis island and saw statue of liberty
9. didn't leave hotel room for rest of trip because i was scared to go on the streets
10. been scared of cities and elmo ever since
4.
Coming from Chicago, the home of deep dish pizza, I heard our rivals for the best pizza was New York. My mom and I put it on our list of things-to-do to eat a slice of pizza in the heart of New York City. Although the trip has been a little rocky so far, I was still optimistic to compare two famous types of pizza. I personally would prefer deep dishes to thin crust, and New York is all about their thin crust pizza. I don’t recall the name of the joint we went to, but it was a quick walk only a couple streets over. I ordered a plain cheese slice of pizza, and I am not over-exaggerating when I say the single slice was bigger than my head.
7.
Coming home from the big apple, living only twenty minutes away from the city of Chicago made my fear of cities bother me. I wanted to be able to enjoy the skyline and the countless number of activities that the city holds, but the traumatic events I witnessed in NY made me never want to go back, nor into Chicago. Maybe I should have gone to a calmer part of NY, maybe I should’ve gone when I was a bit older so I could appreciate it more, but instead I am traumatized from the crime, violence, noises, driving, and people I encountered in New York. Now, NY is bigger than Chicago, the crime rates are still too similar to say that Chicago is safer. Not only did I pick up a fear of cities, but also of a children character who I used to watch on the TV everyday. The musty man in the elmo suit killed my childhood memories of elmo. Every child loves Elmo, but me? I would run away from the sight of the red furry creature. So, not only was my favorite childhood show ruined, so was the beautiful view of Chicago I saw in the distance driving around my town.
Starting with a line of DIalogue #12
ReplyDelete“Hey momma, where is Chewy?” I asked very cautiously, as I saw that she had already been crying. Chewy, short for Chewbacca, the name of my dog that I met when I first moved to Georgia. I knew he technically belonged to my stepfather, but I was the one who took care of him the most and spent the most time with him.
“I’m so sorry sweetie, he passed away this morning,” she replied in between sobs.
“Oh, ok,” I said as I got up and made my way into the kitchen. I had a hard time processing the fact that he was gone and wasn’t going to be here anymore. After I cleaned the entire kitchen, I went to my room. I locked the door and decided to stay there for a whole week. After the seventh day, my brother walked in.
“I know it’s been hard on you…” he started. He used his ability of encouragement and wisdom of experience to help pick me up off the floor, not only physically, but metaphorically as well. I continued to go through my days without my dog with me. Obviously it was hard at first, but it got easier as time went on. Although he is still missed to this day, his death is not dwelled upon.
"I sat alone in anguish during quarantine while my father sat in the cancer center receiving chemotherapy."
ReplyDeleteWhen Covid first started to take over our society and change our day-to-day lives, I had no idea its intentions were this ominous for my family. Many of my friends still continued to hang out everyday, while my parents were strict on allowing our family to leave the house and go out in public. My dad had developed colon cancer in the previous months and was told by his doctors that contracting Covid could be fatal to him. While I was envious of my friends in that they could continue to see each other, I also felt bad because I knew this was what was best for my father. It felt unfair that I was put in a position where I was upset towards my parents but also respecting their wishes for my father's health. While I sat at home, bitter out of jealousy towards my friends, my father sat in the cancer center, envious of those who did not have to worry about what to him was a deathly illness, but to others was considered just a "small cold".
It was half an hour past the end of the school day, which only meant one thing-- capture the flag on the cul-de-sac. The other kids on my street gathered around the circle to split into teams. It was game time. We were sorted into teams of all ages-- ranging from 1st to 5th grade. I was one of the smallest kids, but also the fastest, so I got picked up by the older team captains pretty quick. When the game started, I made a quick dash to the other team's side of the street. I didn't like to wait. I thought I was in the clear, until I felt two big hands smack me on my back. The hands gripped my shirt and slung me to the ground. My face met the blacktop in an instant. The concrete was stained red. I could taste the blood running from my nose, in between my teeth, and down the back of my throat. For a moment, I felt a heart beat in the bridge of my nose. I turned over to see the big handed girl hovering over me. She looked me in the eye, laughed, and ran on. Here I was with a broken nose, the look of defeat, and no flag.
ReplyDeleteAs I laid there, blood pouring through my nose, I was more concerned about losing the game than anything else. I wasn't so much thinking about how I would tell my mom that the mean older neighbor girl slung me to the ground and broke my nose. Or how she laughed at me and walked away. My mom always said I played too hard-- that I was too competitive. I was the closest on my team to snatching the other team's flag, until Big Mack showed up. At this point I had already accepted my defeat. I noticed my new white Nike t-shirt was now covered in blood. Mom was always hesitant to buy me white clothes because she said I stained white too easily. I wonder if she would make an exception to blood stains.
"Jenna, maybe don't wear that new white t-shirt outside. You always find some way to stain your clothes out there."
When I realized I couldn't stop time:
ReplyDelete- my neighbors moving away for college ( all the kids who babysat me)
- my grandpa got sick
-my cousin passing away
- my brother graduating college
- my cousin graduating college
- going to high school
- covid 19
- playing my last club game
- playing my last high school game
- graduating high school
- moving out
- parents selling the house