Small Town Life

Living in this small town
It seems as though you know everyone
It seems like everyone knows you.
Never any privacy
And as soon as you step outside
You have entered,
Drama central.

Living in this small town
There are no secrets
But there are many lies.
With nothing better to talk about
The big talk of the town
Is what someone didn’t do right,
Who is doing what.

Living in this small town
You can’t wait to move out
Change the setting
Live differently then how you have
Your whole life.
You want to break free
From this small town of drama

Old Man and the Sea Essay

People often have to face different kinds of struggles and obstacles in life. They are not always easy and sometimes you don’t achieve what you were trying to. In the novella Old Man and the Sea, the character Santiago, has a face numerous obstacles while he is out at sea. The old man has to take on a thousand pound marlin, cope with a cramped hand, and encounter sharks that are attempting to attack the his prized fish.

For many days the old man, Santiago, is struggling to catch a thousand pound marlin. He is very determined, “Fish, I will stay with you until I am dead.” (Hemingway 52). Santiago wants to catch the marlin so badly that he is willing to risk his life while he does it. This was a huge struggle for Santiago because the fish did not give up and it was a very difficult task for Santiago to do by himself. It shows that his determination was incredible and he was not going to give up no matter what.

Santiago was not a young fisherman; he did not fish with anyone else, and when he got a cramp in his hand, he knew that it would be nothing except a dilemma when catching the fish. Since Santiago was fishing on his own he would talk to himself in order to not be lonely. When he felt his hand cramp up he began talking aloud, “God help me to have the cramp go away, because I do not know what the fish is going to do.”(Hemingway 60). He never gives up even though he has to deal with the pain and he also talks to his hand and says that it is an embarrassment to his body if he gets a cramp. He was aware that since his hand had a cramp he would have to work even harder to catch the marlin and he also decides that in order to make the cramp go away he has to eat lots of food to strengthen him self.

Being out in the ocean alone can be a scary experience. Something that makes it worse is when sharks attack. Santiago eventually killed the marlin and it was enormous. Since it would not fit into his skiff he tied the marlin to the side of the boat. “When the old man saw him coming he knew that this was a shark that had no fear at all and would do exactly what he wished.”(Hemingway 101). The sharks did in fact do exactly what they wanted just as Santiago had guessed. They wanted the marlin and Santiago was going to try everything to stop them. He used his spears and knifes and even his fists to punch the sharks, but the sharks would not refrain and by the time that the old man reached the shore all that was left to his prized marlin, was its skeleton. After all of the struggles that Santiago dealt with, and achieved, he lost what he had wanted all along, the marlin.

Although Santiago was frustrated and disappointed after his marlin was eaten by sharks, he never gave up. In the novella The Old Man and The Sea the protagonist, Santiago has to face problems just like people in everyday life. It is a good thing to know that sometimes you will not always succeed. That is not a bad thing either. It just means that you can not give up and you have to try again. Santiago was a terrible fisherman, he never caught any fish and the other fisherman didn’t see him as a real threat, they also found him to be very different. This never stopped Santiago from doing what he loved.

Third Quarter Outside Reading Review

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen. Penguin Group, 2004

In the book someone like you the protagonist Halley is called home from summer camp because her best friend Scarlett's boyfriend has died in a motorcycle accident. It is Halley and Scarlett's junior year in high school and Scarlett finds out that she is pregnant. She is pregnant with the boy Micheal Sherwood, who died in the accident. Scarlett has all types of problems she must face after becoming pregnant including being at school where everyone is talking about her. Not only does Scarlett have this problem but Halley is also facing her first real relationship. Halley's mother, who is very protective and is the author of many books on how to raise a teenager, thinks she knows everything but Halley hides most of the things she does from her mother, including her new boyfriend Macon who her parents are not thrilled about.

"Dessen has a perfect ear for the immediate daily details of a middle-class teenager's home, school, job, party scene.... Many teenage girls will find themselves in this story."- Booklist, boxed review.

This author reminds me of the author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Both authors do a great job with incorperating the daily struggles of teenagers into their books. I ave not read any other books by Sarah Dessen but this is one of my favorite books I have read and I plan to read more books by her. I can easily connect to the way she tells her story.

"So I reached over and pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her, and held my best friend close, returning so many favors all at once...." (page 21.)

Reading this book has affected me because it shows that things such as death and teen pregnancy can happen to the people you would least expect it from but you have to deal with it and just be there for the ones who need you the most. Life has very unexpected things but everyone has to face them and you can't ignore them. I have expierienced a few deaths in my life and also a teen pregnancy and I know that both are major challenges and are hard for everyone.

Short Story

Why Didn’t He Think Of Us?

It was snowy as I sat in the silent and cozy house. I was home from college for Christmas hiatus and I was enjoying the stress free month. The family was out shopping and my brother was out with all of his friends doing things that teenagers do. I sat on the couch with my laptop on my lap and as I began writing a report my cell phone started ringing. I had a text message from my younger brother. He didn’t seem okay and it made me leery. I knew he was not alright so I called him and it went straight to his voicemail. “Hi you reached, Joe leave a message. BEEP”

Of course he turned off his phone; he is so immature I thought to myself. The kid was pretty wry for his age and it really bugged me how he never got caught. This was an apotheosis that my parents had begun to given up after three kids. My older brother Tyler was quite the troublemaker in high school and he was constantly getting kicked out of school, but now he has finally got his act together and he is married with a child on the way. My mom told me to stay home so that I could greet him when they arrived.

Christmas was two days away and the house was very festive. I heard a clamor outside and it was Tyler and his wife Amanda. I ran to the door and opened it up. “Tyler!” I screamed.

He laughed and grabbed his luggage from the car’s trunk. Amanda came up the front steps and gave me a hug. I hadn’t seen either of them in so long since they had moved to Colorado. We all gathered inside the house and within fifteen minutes of their arrival my parents had came home from the mall with bags of presents. I helped my mom bring them upstairs to her room and then the phone rang. It was Mrs. Smith, Joe’s best friend’s mother. She talked on the phone with my dad for awhile and when my dad hung up he said, “Cali go call your brother.”

I knew Joe had turned off his phone but I did what my dad said and called Joe. Surprisingly Joe’s had turned his phone back on because it rang, and rang. But he never answered. I walked down stairs, “Dad he didn’t answer.” I exclaimed.

“That boy is in deep!” my father said gravely, “Did he tell anyone where he was going?”

“He told me he was going out with the his bevy dad, which could be anywhere.” I said.

“I am going to reprimand him when he comes home. We need to start being more authoritarian with him if he thinks he can just go out and not answer his phone.” My dad said to my mom.

At this point my mother had begun to cry. Amanda and I took her in the other room to comfort her and tell her everything will be okaywhile my father and Tyler took out the cars to go look for him. After about an hour of him not answering his phone and no luck of finding his car anywhere the phone rang. I answered it and the person on the other end said, “Hello, is this the Brown’s house?”

“Um yes it is, how can I help you? I said with a confused countenance.

“This is the Oakland police department, is there an adult I can speak too?”

“I can speak, my name is Calli."

“We need you to come down to the hospital. Your brother,” he coughed, “was found in a car accident about an hour ago. We were just able to reach you and Joe was not recognizable as himself after the accident. The driver was under the influence of alcohol and made a glib and irrevocable decision because neither of them survived.”

"What? No that can't be Joe im sorry it just can't be Joe."

"Im sorry dear but we need someone to come to the hospital to make sure it's him."

I began to cry on the phone. "Calli we need someone to come to the hospital. If you need anymore information you can call the police department and someone will talk to you."

At that moment I hyperventilated and I hung up the phone. I have never imagined my brother, my younger brother, would die before me. It couldn’t be true; they must have the wrong kid. There was no way that either Joe or his friend were drinking. It wasn’t even dinner time yet, how could they have been drunk? I didn’t know how to tell my mother. As soon as she saw the tears rolling down my face she knew what it was and Amanda ran to the phone to call Tyler and my dad and they went to the hospital to make sure it was my brother.

I had received the worst Christmas present that you could ever imagine. Christmas Eve we weren’t like everyone else, we were picking out the casket and setting up funeral plans with the Smith family. Two families lost there 17 year old sons 2 days before Christmas and there was no way to change what had happened.

The day of the wake and funeral were the hardest two days of my life. Joe and his friend had a lot of friends at school. They were pretty popular and played sports. This was a huge loss for out town and especially for our family. The entire high school came to the wake and the line of cars went 2 miles down the road from the funeral home. After the funeral I went with Tyler and Amanda for a ride to give my mom and dad some time alone. We went back to the house that night and it didn’t seem right, we all knew that it would never be the same without Joe. He completed our family.

After dinner I went into Joe’s room and cried myself to sleep on his bed. I woke up later that night and no one was asleep yet. It was 2 in the morning and everyone was awake with every light in the house on. Confused I walked down stairs to find my family watching family videos. As soon as I heard Joe’s voice I lamented and when I walked into the living room and saw his face on the TV screen I fell to the ground. My mom came over to me and wrapped her arms around me. I didn’t know how to handle my brother being dead and it was a real reality check. I wish he had thought about us before he ruined his life and ours.