Free Verse

Summer . . . the time to let it all go.

To chase everything you feel, you want, you need, you desire.

It’s almost as though the sun gives you confidence.

It makes you believe just maybe this time things will work,

that all you could hope for would be right there beside you.

The truth is, I learned a hard lesson this summer.

I learned that even on the warmest day of July it could feel as though it were about to snow
It’s July, you feel as though these summer fireworks are going off everywhere

like nothing could get better,

but then that fireworks display is suddenly over, and all you're left thinking is,

"is it true things couldn’t get any worse?"
You come to realize people don’t always mean what they say

in the way you understand it.

And coming to terms with this reality might just seem impossible.

So now its August, and you’ve finally realized that fireworks display was a meer thunderclap in the distance,

That those things you believed,

The way you thought you heard them,

Were just misled fireflies fading off as the summer was ending.
Summers almost gone now,

You chased what you felt you wanted and needed.

You risked it.

You put yourself out there and you did it.

But the mission was completed. . . or was it?

If there’s one thing you learned this summer its that new friendships came easy.

And I'm not talking the short term, "hello-goodbye" kind.

I’m beginning to question that in this risk I took, I made this new. . friend.

A friend who had this smile, this laugh, this openness about him that made me feel as though I could explode with my deepest secrets and fears,

And by my own amazement they would be understood.
They wouldn’t be judged, they would be smiled at.

They would be considered rather than forgotten about.

I felt as though that original risk showed me what I really needed.

Its September

The weather is changing

The sun doesn’t exactly give you confidence, but the brisker winds find a way to give you strength.

There’s no question now,

That smile, that laugh, that honesty, is what I wanted more than anything.

I almost feel foolish to have made the wrong decision all summer,

But just like a small ant in this big world, I'm willing to fight for what I so deeply want.

Those smiles become the sunshine of your day,

Those laughs become the extra strength you need to fight for what you want.

In this moment I realized,

After all the years of people telling me that everything happens for a reason,

There was finally a time I could believe that.

I could have faith in the fact that everything that happened that summer, happened for one very clear reason.

To lead me to that smile, that laugh, that look, those eyes.

I’ve gotten everything I ever wanted and then some.

Nurturing your Inner Writer

To what extent are people born writers? How much are they able to cultivate the writer within through education and experience?
What activities and experiences can you engage i
n in order to develop your inner writer? What part of your past has best helped you become the writer you are now? How motivated are you to continue developing your writing ability over a lifetime?


People may or may not be born writers, we can not prove this to go either way. But we are entitle to our own opinion.

My personal opinion is that yes people are born writers, some of these "born writers" may discover this and some may not. And that is where the "nurtur" comes into play. To me what you become relies on your parents, and your schooling. As well as your self discipline and perserverance. A dream is just a dream until you take the leap into making it come true.

This may actually be the reason why some people don't believe in being born a writer, because some people choose to explore their abilities and others choose to not care at all. That is no ones fault but their own. a writer has many ways to practice just as a basketball player. They can edit other pieces of work. They could write poetry in their spare time, or maybe even a novel.

I would like to continue learning about writing. But I don't necessarily want to become a writer.

Sorry this journal is short ( I don't know what else to say on the topic)

Writing as a Lifestyle

What do you think about the writer's lifestyle? How much of it appeals to you? Which aspects least appeal to you? Can you envision yourself doing the job? Describe how writing might either fit into your lifestyle or become your lifestyle in the future.

I personally do not find the writing lifestyle to be very appealing. Spending my life writing would be kind of boring. I could never see myself sitting at home thinking to myself "if I want to pay for my kids this week, I have to write something." That would drive me insane. It would be the ultimate brain wrecker. Jobs in which thinking is necessary are the best ones. But once your at the point of needing to overcome all chances of writers block to make some money, now that would be horrible.

I don't think that writting would be able to fit into my personal lifestyle. When I think about my future a key aspect is family. I understand that a family is all about respect, and thats why I feel that me spending time at a desk writing is not fair. I would much rather be outside in my spare time.Or doing another activity. I enjoy writting on my own time, but I don't ever want it to feel like a pressure.

To me writting is something you should do only if you have the feeling inside of you to do it. Writing should never be a forced effort. Which is exactly why I have such huge problems completing the work in this class sometimes. I don't know how to make myself write. To me I either have an idea or I don't.

I also think that writing would be a stressful job. You have to first worry about writing, then editing, then publishing. And now that you have put all of this money time and effort in, who knows if it will even sell. Writing is the same thing as be a doctor or teacher or mechanic you either you like it or you don't. The difference is as a mechanic even if you don't you've been taught to fix brakes and you could do it over and over. But as a writer, you aren't able to just rewrite the same story. In each book you have to rediscover your ideas, feelings and interpretations. And I don't think that this would work out for me.

Immitation Poem

An Evening by Gwendolyn Brooks

A sunset's mounded cloud; 6
A diamond evening-star; 6
Sad blue hills afar; 5
Love in his shroud. 4

Scarcely a tear to shed; 6
Hardly a word to say; 6
The end of a summer day; 6
Sweet Love dead. 3


A Realization by Jennifer Reeb

he'd never been so proud;
never thought he'd come this far;
Thought that would have been it for the bar;
gone was the cloud.

he awoke and they said;
sir you need to go pray ;
there was a crash today;
your friend's dead

Dramatic Monologue/ Narrative Poem

Learn To Live Again

Why are you looking at me?
I still have eyes you know.
Seriously!
Just because I can’t move off this couch
doesn’t mean I’m not human anymore!
Everyone who comes into this house
sits in that chair
and looks at me the exact same way.
AM I A PUPPY IN A WINDOW?!
I don’t make profit,
I don’t charge at the door.
But maybe I should start,
10 dollars. Come one come all,
see what a truly depressed woman looks like.

She was only two years old,
and I know it wasn’t my fault.
Everyone who sits in that chair tells me this,
but yet I still can’t seem to convince myself.
There’s nothing you can do to control,
how quickly life can catch up with you.

She was only two.

I know that no one can ever be put to blame.
And that’s the precise reason I blame myself.
There is no way to prove what caused the leukemia,
but as long as I live, I will know it was me.
I should never have smoked while I was pregnant.
I should have cared,
I should have cared before it was too late.

I’ve failed as a mother.
I’ve failed as a daughter.
I’ve failed as a sister.
And greatest of all,
I’ve failed as a respectable person.

One day I’ll be able to get up.
One day I’ll realize she’s happy up in heaven.
One day I’ll understand that these things aren’t preventable.
One day I’ll be able to look at her picture,
smile and use her to guide my way.

And when that day comes,
maybe I will be able to believe.
That it wasn’t my fault,
and that I can move on with my life.

When that day comes, I’ll be able to
live and love again.

and they lived happily ever after <3

I am a firm believer in fairy tales. I love the idea of a princess and a prince charming. I love the idea of a magical love, and a magic land, with the most magical life. I love the idea of it and I have since I was a child, although when I was five I wouldhave never admited it. But that was only because I wanted my boy cousins to like me : ).

Anyways back to fairytales. I find it so sad and almost depressing how many people give up on this idea of a fairytale. One bad thing happens in their life and then bam, I'm done, my fairy tales over. I'm not going to get my happily ever after. This, my friends, is bogus. Did Cinderella start off happy? NO! Was Snow White poisoned first? YES! Did Sleeping Beauty sleep away part of her life? She sure did. Simba ran away from Nala, Jasmine had to wait for her Alladin, Ariel had to wish really hard for a pair of feet. Beauty fell in love with the Beast, and of course, Pheonia had to be rescued from her tower. People don't want to be patient anymore, they expect things to come flying at them with no problems attached.

One lesson I've learned in my life is to expect nothing and in return I will gain everything. Life wasn't made easy for a reason. If you don't learn to fight for what you believe in and follow your dreams you really won't live life to it's fullest. I've always wanted to get everything I could from my life, but I never wanted to be upset while doing so.

We sit around and wish for things to come to us, but we don't have the courage go out into the world and get them. This is why all of the princess' appeal to me. They were never given the best lives, but they learned how to deal with them. Pocahontas' village was being taken over, and Cinderella was a servant but they had perspiration. They had dreams! And most of all they had hearts. None of these characters where careless, they cared about the others around them no matter how badly they were treated.

I once heard a debate about how Disney princess' left girls with an unrealistic expectation of a prince charming who will come and sweep her off her feet. This uprise caused many parents to take these movies and stories away from their children. The whole argument is the stupidest thing I have ever heard in my entire life! Little girls are going to fantasize of a prince charming no matter what you do, and if you take that away from them you are rediculous. The movies and stories teach girls,both young and old so much more than that.

They teach morals, they teach self respect, and most of all determination. I am a Disney fanatic and I won't lie I still watch one of my favourites when I'm having a bad day. But I really feel the connection with the princess, and I thank my mom and my aunt for teaching the girls in the family the positive side of them.

Love is not a hoax, its a test. Of patience, determination, honesty and so many other things. But the biggest test is to be honest with yourself. If your patient someone for you will come. Maybe the first won't be the right one. So what? Now your supposed to live a miserable life. NOT A CHANCE! This is again where the lessons taught in fairy tales come in.

Why sit around mopping? Really it does you no good at all. Belle from Beauty and the Beast is such a great example of this. She meets Gaston handsome as can be, but she doesn't choose him. And we all are left wondering why. Its because she has learned she's more than just a pretty girl. She has dreams and hopes just like anyone else, and she wants someone who can agree with her wishes. So she ends up with a Beast, who cares she is happier than ever! Theres no expectations of a dazzling prince there.

I think its amazing that I get the chance to feel like a princess. I waited and I never tried to gain attention. When someone says just wait when you meet someone you know.They aren't lieing. There is no reason to go on a hunt for perfection I am so happy I have had the opportunity to experience all of this for myself. I have been in a relationship for a little over a year and I have never felt so amazing in my life. Although I know life can change unexpectedly, I've learned to live in the now. And right now I feel like Cinderella, I feel like Jasmine, I feel like Ariel.

Back to my original point, fairy tales do exist. It all depends on your perspective. If you look at things negatively, until you find a way to change that your going to be like an evil stepsister. No one can change that but you. When people claim that Princess are wrong for children, I think they may be wrong for a parent. If your living like an evil stepsister than maybe you should watch a few Disney movie. Look at them from the perspective of a child, who can still dream and imagine.I'll bet any money you will learn something, maybe even something about yourself.

Childhood

As your Children's Story writing draws to a close, consider that people haven't always felt the same way about children as we do now. The idea that childhood is a special time and that a child's innocence should be protected largely originated with the Victorians. Before that, children were sent to work in factories as soon as they were old enough, often working 10 hour days at the age of 7 or 8. Chimney Sweeps used to employ even younger children since they could be dangled from a rope and used to knock soot and highly carcinogenic coal dust out of chimneys. By the time these young people reached the ripe old age of 15 or 16 they were adults for all intents and purposes.Now, as a society, we have reached a point where we try to insulate children from the more unpleasant and laborious aspects of life but we have also delayed adulthood for many. Some "children" (perhaps you know some?) continue to live in their parents' basements until their late twenties. What do you think? How much (and from what) should children be protected? How well are we handling this issue now as a society? What kind of childhood will you try to create for your own offspring? What expectations will you have? What are some of the most valuable experiences and lessons from your own childhood that you will try to pass on to the next generation?

It is true, children live in their parents basements until their late 20's. But I don't think that this has anything to do with protection. I think that as children we are taught so much and so little all at the very same time. Personally my child was fantastic, I was lucky enough to do so many things and learn so much all at the very same time. I had a loving family and they wanted nothing but the best for their children. Realistically I think any parents wants the best for their child. With this is mind, I find that adults try and shelter us so much without thinking about the stuff we hear at school. I learned so many things that I probably shouldn't have at such a young age but my parents were oblivious to this. Where as there are other children who literally know nothing and then once they enter highschool its culture schock times 400.

I think that children/adults stay home so long now because of ongoing fears. In todays society everything is so much different than it has been in the past. I love reading and part of the reason I love it so much is simply because I can fantasize about the world before you had to fear playing outside. Todays society is so much different, from a young age we can see that our parents worry over everything. It's a scary thought for your child to play outside, it frieghtening for your daughter to walk to her friends house alone. My dad tells me stories about how when he was younger him and his friends would play hide and go seek outside until around 2 in the morning. And by this he means through out a neighbourhood not one back yard but a full on neighbourhood. I remember the first time he told me this I was about 10 and my response was wow Daddy that sound like so much fun can I do that one day. His response was well it's a little different now Jenny, the people are much different and many don't want kids running around. Also I'm scared that someone might take you.

When he said those words "someone might take you" I was tramatized. As a young child I really didn't want to think about this. I think that people are trying to protect children from to much, and as a result they are scraing their children. A child is supposed to have the most care free life. But now there are children who won't even play with their brothers and sisters in their back yard.

For my own children I want them to be aware of whats around them but I would never want to scare them. As a parent I feel it would be my job to protect my children. Part of protection means to allow them to live with out worrying. I feel that it will be my job to worry, and that once their old enough they can know. I do not believe that parents telling their children stay by me or someone will take you is ethical. I think that just scares a child. You have no left your son or daughter to think everyone is out to get them. I don't personally feel that I should have a child whom is afraid of the world. I would want my son or daughter to know how to explore or learn from their surroundings, but the way people are teaching their children there is no more joy in exploration. When at a play ground the child is fearing talking to other children. I think that we need to tone it down a little and let kids be kids. Yes, they do need to be safe but as a parent it is your job to handle that task. Teach them things like not to talk to a stranger when their alone. But another child should never be considered a stranger unless you want to have an antisocial psychopathic child!

I learned alot from my own childhood, and I think that is why I can say how I want my child to be raised. I want my own children to have a childhood such as I did, with innocence and freedom but yet a slight knowledge of the potential dangers within our society.