Dear class,

            I honestly have learned a lot in this class. The one thing I would like to focus on is poetry. I learned about iambic pentameter, different literary devices, and new Shakespearean words. I learned that I enjoyed writing in iambic pentameter, and I will certainly be using this format in future poems. I loved the direction my poem went in. I also learned about how to make a picture book. I loved being able to read to children and see how they interpreted my story. They reminded me of my little sister, Alice. I also learned that I liked drawing on photoshop, and I know I will use this new skill in high school.

             My hopes for after graduation is to read more, read different varieties of genres, create a summer blog and YouTube channel, (where I can write scripts and sketches) and to be more aware of important details in reading. I also plan to submit poems to Scholastic and similar competitions to help build a portfolio. I want to become a more creative writer, which is something I can apply to almost any aspect of life. I am very exited to see what high school has to offer and the future projects I will be presented with. 

Grasping the Pearl

She gives me an enchanting glare

            So I ask politely, why do you stare?

                        Her skin is as clear as a porcelain doll

                                    I narrow my eyes, she’s trying to stall!

                                                She looks down, her eyelashes are long!

                                                            So I thoughtfully ask her whatever is wrong?

                                                She doesn’t speak, yet her eyelashes are reflective

                                    So I stalk towards her, and like a detective

                        Look into these glimmering globes

            Then down at her perfect robes

Every fold and crease is unique and neat

            She’s so breathtaking I took a seat

                        “Who are you?” I whisper with ease

                                    The girl walks away calling back, please!

                                                If I told you I’d cloud you mind

                                                            She runs away leaving an astonished me behind

                                                                        But before she’s completely out of sight

                                                            She speaks, giving me quite a fright

                                                “Silly lady, can’t you see?

                                    I’m only who you want

me

to

   be.”

            

The Power of Strength Through Pain

      When some people are feel that all the odds are against them, they give up. But in, “The Alchemist,” by Paul Coelho the main character, who is actually referred to as “the boy” through the story, doesn’t give up, despite everything he faces. All he wants is to find treasure, but once he thinks he is in the right direction he is faced with another twist that throws him off. But all these challenges that throw him off his path just make him get up knowing more than he did before. Therefore, the author shows the power of strength through pain.

       One way the author shows the power of strength through pain is by internal struggle. Throughout the story the character second-guesses his decisions. An example of this is when he puts his trust into a man he just meets. The main character finds himself in an unfamiliar land, and the man is one of the only people in this new land that speaks his language. So he asks him for help. Later in the chapter, the man steals everything he had and ran away. This made the main character very confused, and he considered giving up. But after a while he found another way to accomplish his goal. This quote shows how the main character learns to accept the fact that the thief stole everything he has. “He (the boy) realized that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as a adventurer in quest of his treasure.” The quote explains hoe the boy decides to take on a different perspective of his struggle. Another example is how throughout the story he wished he could go home. He wished he could go back to his sheep, and he didn’t have to suffer. “When I had my sheep, I was happy, and I made those around me happy. People saw me coming and welcomed me, he (the boy) thought. But now I’m sad and alone. I’m going to become bitter and distrustful of people because one person betrayed me.” This shows the boy second guessing himself. He worried and frets and doubted. But soon he remembered an old king who promised that he would find treasure, and he held on to his dream. Because he understands that even though he lost his sheep, he knows that it will all be worth it in the end.

       Another way the author shows the power of strength through pain is by external pain. An example of this is when the main character is finally at the pyramids. He has worked so hard to get where his was at that moment, and he started to dig for the treasure. Then, out of nowhere appeared two men that came and beat him up. They took everything he had learned on his journey, and told him he was a fool for believing he’d find treasure at the pyramids. Then they rode off and left him wounded and broken. At this moment in time, the main character had every right to abandon this dream and go home. Go back to the start, back to his sheep, but he still doesn’t give up. He holds his head up, and he finally achieves his goal.

       The final way the author shows the power of strength through pain is by love. The character finds himself motivated by love. While he is riding through the desserts with the alchemist he is felt sad and lonesome. But then he remembers this girl he met in an old village. He was in love with this girl, an

d she told him to go find his treasure and come back to her. So the boy pushes on, and while he does so he thinks of her. At one point in the story, the boy is mad. He misses the girl. “My heart is agitated,” the boy said. “It has it’s dreams, it gets emotional, and it’s become passionate over a woman of the desert. It asks things of me, and it keeps me from sleeping many nights, when I’m thinking about her.” This quote shows the main character’s struggle, his yearning that harmed him so much. But in his anger, he thinks of how she is at home waiting for him. And thinking about this brings him comfort, and motivated him to push on.      The author beautifully shows us how even though we may feel very weak through trails, we can still find the strength to push on. This is helpful to us because everyone goes through struggles, but not everyone knows how to react to it with the grace the main character from, “The Alchemist” did. As a reader I felt strongly connected to the main character. Although I don’t have the same goals as he does, I do understand the frustration and hope that he experienced as the story went on. And other people will read and connect and be inspired by this story. All and all, the main character shows us the power of strength through pain.

Draft #1

       Today should have been just another day. I really should’ve. I know it should have. My mommy knows that too. But instead it wasn’t.

      I wish I were at home playing with my favorite stuffed tiger, or coloring with my brand new crayons.

      But here I am. In an itchy black dress, holding my mother’s hand.

     Mommy sniffles, and her eyes are all red. I already asked her if she was okay three times, but I asked her again, just in case. She told me the same thing every time, “I’m just a little sad, honey.”

     I had a brother. Well, I was supposed to. My mommy says that when he was born, he decided that he wanted to fly back up to heaven instead of stay here. I don’t understand why he would want to do that. What’s wrong with here? I love it here. I love everything about here. But he didn’t.

      So I stand here with my mommy, as we bow are heads over a big black box. I am wondering what is in the black box, but I don’t think I should ask.

      I play with my hair and hum songs and lay in my mommy’s lap. People talk and sing about life and losing people. We haven’t “lost” anyone. Everyone is here! I giggle, they are so silly. Finally after what seemed like forever, we leave.

     We are on the bus, and I am exited to go home and draw. I am telling my mommy about how exited I am, when a lady sitting next to me begins to speak. “You have a lovely daughter.” The lady pipes. I smile. “Thank you,” my mom says quietly.

     Then she smiles at me. “Is she your only child?” The lady continues. “My mom’s eyes get all red again. “Well,” she starts. “I had a boy. But he passed away.”

     The lady smiles and shakes her head. “Well then that doesn’t count.” My mother’s eyes began to water.

     “Ma’am,” my mother said softly, “my boy was a blessing. He was only a baby when he passed, but within the days he was alive I developed a love and joy for this child. He made me laugh, he made me cry. I even started to match which family members he looked like. And when he died-when…” my mom began to shake a little. “when he died, I was hurt. Even if he was only a couple days old, I still felt as sad as I would if he was old as me.IN the end,  it’s never about numbers. It’s about love. With that, mom picked me up and carried, me off the bus, even though it wasn’t our stop.

      I didn’t say anything. I didn’t think I should. Luckly I didn’t have to. My mom began to speak as we started to walk towards a playground nearby.

    “Honey, I love you so much. The last couple of weeks have been hard. But o promice it will get better. I will try to smile more. I will try to have more fun.

    I nodded. Mom took my hand, and with a smile as big as the moon, we ran into the playground.

Author's Note

Author’s Note

      This book is for all the little girls that silence themselves as a result of bullying. I believe we are all born with a need to speak. We worked so hard to learn these words as babies, why let them be taken away? My goal is to show you that the only person that gets in your way is yourself. You have to be stronger then them. So don’t silence yourself because of them. Let their slimy words slip away from you.

Synthesis Page

Chloe Ivey                                             812

How does this book help you to think about social issues you care about or causes you are committed to?

      In, The Selection by Kiera Cass, I noticed multiple things that were connected to social issues that I cared about. But there was one in particular that really stood out to me. In the book there were two groups of rebels that were constantly attacking the palace. The first one, the northerners would sneak in and raid shelves. Their motive was to change the government by giving the people evidence against them. The second group, southerners would come in and kill. They wanted to forcefully change the government though violence and destruction. The difference between these groups are major. They remind me of modern day mindsets. For example, some people get mad at the police in general when events like Eric Garner occur. They verbally attack the police, like how the southerners attacked the castle. When actually it isn’t the police’s fault. This book also shows how difficult it is to know something is wrong but there is nothing you can do about it. Today, with issues like self-harm, sickness, sexual harassment, starvations and much more you feel so small. You can read about feel sad, but that sometimes feels like that is all you can do.