Saying Goodbye.

I'm tearing up just thinking about this last week of school. I've had so many wonderful memories at Fairfield Jr. High, and I'm going to miss everyone who went there. In the past years I never really felt sad about school ending, but the fact that we are all separating into different schools makes this a lot harder. I hate saying goodbyes, especially to close friends I have made throughout the past three years. I know that we will still see each other every once and a while, but we will never be as close as we were throughout Jr. High.

Another thing that makes me sad is saying goodbye to all of my wonderful teachers. Most kids wouldn't really care about this, but I really have loved all of my teachers. We have great teachers who care about us, and put forth tremendous effort to teach us what we need to learn.

I have loved Fairfield more than words can describe, but at the same time I am very excited to move on to Davis High School. I'm intimidated and excited to start three of the best years of my life. Once I turn 16 my world will be completely different. I will have a ton of free agency with the ability to drive myself wherever I want. Yesterday, my dad and I went to a church parking lot to practice driving for the first time. As I sat in the drivers seat, I realized how fast I was growing up, and how fast time was going by. People would always tell me that time was going to fly by, but I never believed them. Now I agree 100% that time goes by faster than you think it will.

All of the experiences and trials I have gone through while at Fairfield have shaped me into the person I am today. I feel that coming out of Jr. High, I know a lot more about life and what I want to accomplish in mine. I've learned to put others before myself, and also to be an example to everyone around me through my actions.

To any of my peers who are reading this, I want to tell you how much I've loved going to school with you. I feel like we have all been good friends even if we don't hang out outside of school. We all had differences, but most of us learned to put them aside to create friendships, and good relationships with our peers. I loved going through all my classes and having the ability to meet new people, and get to know my peers better.

These past three years have been great, and I'm sure that the next three will be even better. I hope that I can hold myself together this week while saying goodbye to a big part of my life. I will miss all of you going to Layton, and I will miss all of my wonderful teachers who have taught me so much. I love you all, and wish you the best of luck! :)

Apparently turtles can run away..

Two christmas ago, when my brother ran up the stairs on christmas morning he saw exactly what he wanted. A big cage wrapped with a thick red bow around it. He grabbed the russian turtle from the cage and named him Tod. Not only did they become great friends through the past two years, but he became the neighborhood superstar. All of my brothers friends knew "Tod the Tortoise" and always wanted to come and see him. Tod was adored by everyone and given way to many carrots. In the summer we would take him out in the grass so he could walk around and get some fresh air. He loved feeling free instead of being trapped in the four corners of his cage. A couple saturdays ago, me and my family were doing yard work when we decided that we should let Tod enjoy the nice weather. We brought him out, and he started walking around our yard. After about 20-30 minutes of doing yard work we realized that we hadn't been keeping track of Tod. We looked around, but couldn't find him anywhere! Our house doesn't have a fence around it, so that didn't help either. A couple hours after we had begun our search we figured that our favorite pet would be lost forever. I tease my brother about this without end because seriously, how can someone loose their turtle? How can a turtle run away when it walks less than a mile/hr? I do feel bad for my brother though, he lost one of his best friends. For now all we can do is wait to see if he will find his way back. Every once and a while we go out to search for our carrot-eating friend and hope that someday he will show up on our doorstep.

Where I'm From

I am from laughter spread by little children, whose energy never falters.
A place which is never quiet nor still, an ongoing adventure.
I am from the late night gatherings on the couch,
And the gleaming television which brings our different lives together for a small moment.
I am from bowls of buttered and salted popcorn filled to the rim, much of it missing the children’s mouths and falling along the cracks of our couch.
I am from a talented father, whose travels bring us foreign spices, sparking our curiosity.
I am from a loving mother whose second home is in our car-driving to our scheduled places.
I am from a pack of swimmers, bringing in the smell of fresh chlorine each and every day.
There are trophies, medals, meets, and more, but this is where I’ll never score.
I am from the ocean waves that call for me during the summer months.
I am from high expectations, and parents who I don’t want to let down.
I am from Disney Princesses, and other characters who never remain unspoken of, inside and outside our walls.
I am from the never failing dolls and board games lying about, mocking me as I step and trip.
I am from the mountains, where flowers bloom each new spring.
I am from friendly people living in the houses that encircle me.
Streets filled with bikes and children, as they happily ride about.
I am from bundles of blankets placed perfectly next to the burning fire.
I am from a world of care, where no one is ever left alone.
I am from a loving home.

Seedfolks

Seedfolks shows how one person can change the community through small and simple things. This apartment complex is filled with strangers. No one knows who their next-door neighbor is, and frankly they don’t really care. All of the families living in the apartments are only concerned about themselves and about why their lives are bad. When Kim plants that first seed, things slowly start to change as people learn more about themselves, and also about their neighbors.

The garden symbolizes the growth and understanding of the people who plant it. All of the characters are shy and unsure of themselves at the beginning, but as they grow and start making friends they gain more confidence in themselves. As they watch their own plants grow, they become happy and proud of their work and want others to feel the same way. They start helping each other with their gardens, and all of the plants grow into big fruits and vegetables. By spending time helping each other, they learn to act in a selfless way by taking time to talk to others about their lives.

“Those conversations tied us together.” P. 59

Seeds are only the start of what grows in this garden. Friendships grow. People grow. Knowledge grows. Understanding grows. Care grows. The characters not only grow, but their relationships do as well. They learn how to respect each other, and how people should be treated. You can see the change that takes place in these characters, and it’s only for the better.

The theme that this book conveys is that no matter where you come from, and what your background is, you can still come together as one in a community. Today I feel like we often divide ourselves into groups, or just bluntly don’t make the effort to reach out to other people. This book showed very clearly how we never know what someone has, or is going through. There are a lot of people who are lonely, or need someone to talk to. The garden becomes a place where people feel safe sharing stories about their life, their background, and culture. I wish that our world today was a “garden” where we could share our lives with others, but sadly, this isn’t the case. This is one of the reasons why I enjoyed this book so much. It showed us that anything is possible. Even the smallest lima bean could spark the start of a community coming together. The smallest lima bean could change the world once and for all.

Mr. Sun

It's amazing how one thing can determine so many other things. In this case, the sun, determines how we live each and every day. Without the sun, we wouldn't be here today.

The reason I bring up the sun is because summer is finally here! After week upon week of rain and horrible weather, we finally get to have some heat and sunshine. The one thing that really does change when summer hits is everyone's mood. Suddenly people become happier, and have better attitudes about everything. During the winter months we are kind of "depressed" because of the cold, short days. In the summer we can enjoy the outdoors, and the sun stays out until 8 or 9 giving us much longer days.

Right now it is hard to go to school when you want to be outside in the sun jumping on the trampoline or swimming, but luckly we only have 3 weeks left. Sometimes it feels like these weeks are the longest, but hopefully this year they go by fast. I can't believe that summer is officially beginning in 3 weeks! It's crazy to think that this year has already gone by!

Keep bringing more sunshine Mr. Sun! :)

My strike against getting ready for school.

At the beginning of this week I woke up and realized that if I had to get ready one more time I would go crazy. I then decided that there really was no point of getting ready anymore, so from there I started my strike.

The next day I wore the big baggy shirt I got from the David Archuleta concert in 7th grade to school. It was really comfortable, and I thought to myself that these next two weeks were going to be great. I continued wearing baggy shirts to school all week, and didn't do my hair once either. I would put my hair in braids the night before, or just put it into a nice-and-easy pony tail. I am still planning on continuing the strike, so schoolmates beware!

I'm glad I realized that I don't need to care about what others think about me. I'm my own person and my true friends will stick by me whether I'm the ugliest person on the planet, or on the cover of a magazine. Before I felt like I needed to impress and "please" people, but now I honestly do not care one bit about what others are thinking. I noticed that from the moment I started having this mindset, my confidence in myself has increased tremendously. I've learned who I am, and I know now that fitting in to the most popular group is not the most important thing in life. A lot of my friends are trying to become as popular as they can be before high school so they can be among the "highly ranked", but soon enough they will be left with no true friends.

I love all of the true friends I have, and I can tell that they really are true. With true friends you can be yourself, and you know that they will love you no matter what. I'm glad that I have amazing friendships that will last me through high school and beyond because I'm sure that a lot of people won't be as fortunate. I'm glad I decided to start this "strike" because it taught me a lot of things I should've realized before.

Singapore: A Model City

The strict laws of Singapore have resulted in a smooth-running society, which impresses many. I think that Singapore is a Model City because the government offers more help then harm. The city of Singapore is always well kept, it provides children with good educations, and also provides employment. The strong government of Singapore tries to run the city in the best direction possible, and with only good intentions for their people.

Singapore is a Model City because of the way they maintain a well-kept environment for the people living there. The streets are squeaky clean, and lined with trees and flowerbeds. They have plenty of taxis, modern expressways, and also their newly built subway, which is available so there is never traffic, especially among the disciplined drivers. There are never any homeless people because of their huge apartment complexes, so don’t expect to see beggars on the streets. Singapore is one of the cleanest, safest places in our world today, allowing you to stroll the streets late at night with no fear. America today would not receive this same description because we are not under strict laws. We have become accustomed to littering, and trashing our streets, which is not okay. We need to discipline ourselves more, so we will have a better environment to live in as well. Not only do Singapore’s strict laws affect the adults, but also their children.

The children of Singapore have a school-system, which is patterned after the Japanese. They have examinations before hand to divide them into schools that will be the best for their learning abilities. The students who do well on the examinations are put into a “superschool” which prepares them for the university and their careers. The other students who don’t do as well on their core subjects are put into technical and vocational schools. The students are taught very well, and have a lot expected of them. They are required to know English, because it is the first language within the educational system. They are challenging their students, and helping them to achieve the most they possibly can through their school-systems. With their great educations, they are pretty much insured a job.

These people have some of the highest living standards in Asia, beside from the Japanese. Their unemployment rate is only 5%, which is a pretty insignificant amount. They have about the same amount of income as the United States, and are pretty well off in their living conditions. Most of the people living in Singapore can afford their own home, or a comfortable apartment. The government has a social security system, which makes workers pay, but also provides them with many benefits. They have many health care benefits, it allows them to borrow money for the purchase of a home, and also insures them retirement at only age 55. In the US, people cannot retire until at least the age of 62. Living in Singapore pretty much guarantees you a happy live, and one without many financial trials.

I believe that Singapore is a Model City because the government helps more than it harms. They demonstrate a clean environment daily, provide good educations to their students, and also provide employment for the adults living there. They only have what is best for their people in mind, and want to show their example around the world. I don’t believe that we need to follow Singapore 100%, but there are many things we can learn from them. If we followed in the steps of Singapore, our world would be a much happier place because it would be under control. Our people would act appropriately, and we would have a clean and organized environment to live in. There would be a lot more order to the way things worked, and overall, we would be safer and happier living in a place like Singapore.