On June 3, 2010 my eighth grade class and I went to Washington D.C. and that will be a trip to remember! I love field trips for one thing but this one just will leave a mark on me forever. Between the bus ride there, lunch at the Metro Station, and walking through all the monuments with my group, I wouldn’t change a thing about it!

First there was the bus ride there. Well, I was stuck on the short bus for the whole bus ride there with broken air conditioning. I’m serious it was scorching hot everyone on that bus was complaining. However, it was fun because it gave everyone something to joke and tease about. It was kind of funny saying “I rode a broken short bus to D.C.”

Then we got there and I was put in with my group. It was Kyle, Cody, Jeff, Evelin, and Kyle’s dad. We ran around D.C. trying to look at everything and that was the best group I could ask for. It was all laughs with us. We were serious when we had to be but any other time it was all laughs. There are some jokes told that I will never forget especially our secret nickname for the Washington Monument.

Finally after a long day of walking we went to the Metro Station to eat. Oh my goodness the food was good….I had noodles! They were yummy like extremely. Then the shopping there was amazing that place could not be compared to any mall. I liked the fact that we had the freedom to run around wherever we wanted to.

Washington D.C. was one of the best trips ever and it made this one of the highlights to my eighth grade year. I will always remember this day because it was so awesome!

This Doesn’t Happen Often

I don’t usually get a moment where I am truly proud of myself. It is kind of hard to pick a moment with this being the situatuion. However, I don’t get my families approval a lot and when I do it means alot to me and recently this has happened.

Since the end of the school year is hurrying near teachers have loaded us with work. I have went home time after time the last few week crammed with stuff to do. It will be math one day, then language arts the next, then maybe social studies, then science. Some days I have all for to do it is chaos. Then with highschool forms to fill out on top of school work it is just a lot of stress on one person.

My aunt and uncle have watched me for the last month walk through my front door from a hard day at school and get right to work, I mean education is important to graduate this year. They have never once said a word to me about they just cracked jokes about how I must be a nerd and I need to study.( I never take it to offense)

A few days ago that changed. My aunt happened to come over to see what I was doing. It was algebra homework (of course, we always have it) and I was concentrating so hard I didn’t even realize she was there. She was staring at the same paper I was and didn’t understand one thing on it. I explained to her what I was doing but she still didn’t have a clue. That when she finally said it. She had told me that with all the work I have been doing and all the stuff I going through right now that she was proud of me that I can actually keep up with it all.

Like I said I don’t hear “I’m proud of you” quite often and when I heard this I was proud of myself because I earned some respect form my family which to be honest is something very special to me.

FRIENDS!

This year is going to be hard to let go of. As each day approaches I am going to have to slowly let go because highschool is approaching and me and my friends must depart. When they are gone all I have left is memories and the biggest memories I have made were this year with my friends.

I have grown so close to so many different people this year I will miss all the times we had together. I remember all the drama that occured and I remeber all of us panicing overhow we were going to fix it. We never left anyone alone when they were in pain and when you were upset someone was always there to confort you. For example: I never cry in school but the one time I did I was balling. I thought one of my best freinds was moving and I couldn’t say good bye. I cried my eyes out that whole day but everyone was there trying to calm me down.

Another thing is that I met so many new people and I go places with them all the time. I love group trips to the each, movies or parties. Everyone just jokes around and has fun. Those are the moments you never forget. I love it! I remeber going to the movies with a group of friends and joking around it seems so long ago but yet it happened so resently.

I will always remeber each person differently. No one is the same I will remeber the funny ones, the understanding ones, the partying ones, the shy ones, the weird one, butone thing they all have in common is the memories I share for them. I love you guys!

I Went Through 8th Grade

And Survived!

In eighth grade there have been tough times. Many, in which I will never forget.It’s hard for me to get out of bed and pay attention in class. It’s hard for me to cram so much in my head in a seven hour time period. It’s hard for me to keep up with assignments. Eighth grade is just hard in general! However, I only had one goal for this year and that was to survive the eighth grade and I believe I have done that quite nicely.

My middle school years were never as stressful as my eighth grade one. It was chaos! I knew it was going to be a struggle and trust me it was but it was worth it I mean I get to go to high school next year and I learned a lot that will help me in my every day life ( except algebra, when did letters come into mathematics?). This year I had a lot more to worry about than just school. Between home, friends,and who knows what else I am glad that I had made it this far and done this well.

School work also got way harder. They had to prepare us to go to high school and make us learn the curriculum for our eighth grade year. There was a lot of work to do! Just being able to turn in a paper or project is something to be proud about I mean have you seen all those papers, have you heard all those lectures, or have you heard all those big words. It is hard to wrap you head around but…. I did! So yay me!

Another thing about this year that I had to change was my attitude my teachers don’t take no mess from anyone. They would snap one you in a heart beat! So I had to change my stubborn ways and grow up and that was hard to do because I……got a big mouth but any who…I managed.

I can’t beleive me year is almost up at Mariner but in the end I’m glad cus this just proves I accomplished my goals. I know I had to change and learn alot this year but it was worth it because by making it through eighth grade it made me a better person.

So Long Mariner! Hello Cape!

Dreams

Langston Hughes

Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Reflection:

The poem means that if you don’t hold on to your dreams, you will not dream and they won’t come true. TO dream is something important they help us think and set goals.

Dreams Deffered

Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Reflection:

This poem i think is talking about a dream that is delayed for some time and you wondering when if it will ever come true. It is never truely answered until the end when he says, “Or does it explode?” which means it will explode in joy. But the way he descibes things is just Ew!

After Years

Ted Kooser

Today, from a distance, I saw you
walking away, and without a sound
the glittering face of a glacier
slid into the sea. An ancient oak
fell in the Cumberlands, holding only
a handful of leaves, and an old woman
scattering corn to her chickens looked up
for an instant. At the other side
of the galaxy, a star thirty-five times
the size of our own sun exploded
and vanished, leaving a small green spot
on the astronomer’s retina
as he stood on the great open dome
of my heart with no one to tell.

Reflection:

I thought this was an interesting way to put a lose of love. It kind of depressing but easy to relate to…..I also like his last name KOOSER is funny!

Why does time fly? Really though, I am going to miss eighth grade so much. I have mad so many new friends and many good memories and I fdon’t want to let all that go. I truly don’t. Why do we have to grow up so fast when we are all still so young?

Teachers keep saying how we are going to be on our own next year and how we need to grow up,or we need to mature. How can I do that when I can’t even grasp the fact that I am going to go to high school nextg year?! What happened to the days of elementary school? What about middle school? Where does the time go? The teachers also say we are ready that we learned so much that we can make it. Hello? I can’t! I am scared out of my mind that school is so big I am so small. Oh My God it will destroy me! Why can’t I stay here, please just a little longer.

All my friends are excited to move on. How could they be? Do they have any fears? I serious though at eighth grade ceremony I am going to be a wreck. I will literally be bawling my eyes out. The last day of school is going to be so hard for me. I don’t think you understand how badly I fear the near days of summer approaching. I just don’t think I can grow up that fast.

I guess in the end I won’t see it as a big deal but right now it is the only thing on my mind. The only thing! I can’t help but think about it I mean it’s my future. This is a big deal I hope I survive. Oh well something I got to deal with.

ok well…..i didn’t exactly write about my theme alot this year. My theme was the beach and I posted stuff when Ms. A told us to but I didn’t really keep up with it that much. However, I learned alot about it when I did do research. I never realized how people obsessed over it. For most teenage girls that is their favorite place to go and for a large population of adults, they favor it too. I also learned that beaches have become majorly polluted so….STOP THROUGHING TRASH IN THE WATER! I also learned that the beach is an important role in many ecosystems for our planet

So not only is it pretty but it is also a big part of our planet earth. So keep it clean and capture it’s  beauty because it is so something you don’t want to miss.

Hope

Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Reflection:

I feel this poem is shows how she felt of live and how she defined hope. The bird stands as a metaphor because hope is a fluffy friendly feeling in all of us that brings out that no matter what happens we can keep moving forward we all have hope, that Haiti will soon be safe, that our economy will soon get better, that some day someone will make a change.