Memoir: The Big Move

      Alexis Scott   

       Mrs. Pollema

I was born on April 13, 1997 in Marshall, Minnesota. I lived in Marshall for about a year. From there I moved to Tampa Bay, Florida. After Florida I moved back to Minnesota, into Olivia. I lived in 3 different houses; my grandparents, a tiny yellow house and then, a brown rambler. My favorite house out of all the places I lived was the brown house. I know this isn't that important to what I am about to tell you but, it’s pretty relevant.

    My brother always said to  me and my sister “ You have to keep the house clean, or no one will want it!” He is four, he shouldn’t know this stuff. Obviously this plan to move is changing all of us.

I recently moved from Olivia to Prinsburg. The difference between the trip is about twenty-five minutes. It’s been very different lately. I use to wake up at 6:00 a.m. and ride the bus for about an hour every morning. Now I don’t wake up until 7:30. That is the best thing about moving. I also get to see my friends whenever I want to. I don’t have to plan a ride to get there and back because I can walk home now, most of the time. School is another thing; it’s great to not have to wake up so early. I wake up, get ready, eat breakfast and I’m off for the day. I never use to have time to eat at home. I took my breakfast on the bus to eat. It’s so much more relaxing and less rushed.  

    The idea of moving to Prinsburg in the first place was exciting. Now that it’s actually happened it’s very weird. I think its because the house is so small. Me and my family are so close to each other. I can never get away from them. This could be a good thing. We spend so much time together now. In a way it has brought us a lot closer. I think that moving to Prinsburg was for the best, my parents surely knew what they were thinking.  Even though the house is small it will still do.
    We are just renting this house. We are looking for a bigger house. I think we will find it when we are ready. My family is planning on moving out by the time school starts again next fall. I am looking forward to a bigger house and more space apart from each other. Otherwise moving to Prinsburg overall has been a great experience. It was great decision my parents made and we still have many memories to make in this town.

                                                               Anything Essay

                                                    Mrs. Pollema

                                                                 English 9
                                                                Alexis Scott

Sports; an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others. There are many different types of sports in the world. Each and every one of them have their own way they work. In the USA the most popular sport would  be football.  In other countries people don’t even have a clue what football is, considering Spanish countries call soccer futbol.

There are all sorts of sports programs at all different kinds of schools. At my school we have; soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, dance, and track, the most well known sports. Every school is different. Willmar has hockey, a girls soccer team, a swim team, and a gymnastics team. At public schools, or schools without tuition, every student that plays a sport has to give a payment before they can play. We don’t have to pay a sports fee, but we do have tuition.

Different sports are played during different seasons. I pretty much play a sport every season! In the fall I play Volleyball, I am a middle blocker. Volleyball goes until about the end of November. Other sports going on in the fall is soccer, but we don’t have a girls soccer team, so it’s mostly a guy sport. In the winter I play basketball, I am a post. That means I stand up to the big girls on the court! In the spring I play JO, which is Junior Olympics Volleyball, and in the summer I play volleyball and basketball leagues. If someone were to ask me which sport I liked the most they wouldn’t get an answer. They are both great sports and I enjoy them both A LOT. I don't know what I would do if I didn’t play sports during the year.

One wise athlete once quoted, “ People don’t play sports because its fun. Ask any athlete, most of them hate it, but they couldn’t imagine their life without it. It's part of them, the love/hate relationship. It’s what they live for. They live for practices, parties,cheers, long bus rides, invitationals, countless pairs of different shoes, water, gatorade, and coaches you hate but appreciate. They live for the way it feels when they beat the other team, and knowing those two extra sprints they ran in practice were worth it. They live for the way they became a family with their team, and live for the countless songs they sing in their head while training all those hours. They live for the competition, they live for the friends, the practices, the memories, the pain, its who they are. Its who we are.” This athlete was Michael Jordan, and if anyone would know this to be true, it would be him.

That quote describes me. Except the part about hating the sport. I did hate basketball up until this last year, but I kept asking myself why I continued to play it. It must mean something. If you don’t play a sport, give it try. The worst that could happen is that you don't like it. At least you can say you tried!

 

My Inspirational Angel

Alexis Scott

Mrs. Pollema

One person who really helped me through a to become stronger in my faith was my grandpa, Jim. He was a very strong Christian man who never missed a church service. He read the Bible to me when I would go to his house and would show love to all the people around him. He was never thinking about himself. He was the sort of man you always wanted to be around.

When my parents got divorced, I was only five. They thought I had no idea what was going on, but they were wrong; I did. My mom, sister and I moved up to Minnesota from Florida and stayed with my grandparents. My grandpa could tell something was wrong. He prayed with me and told me everything would be just fine. He explained that my parents did this to make things better for my sister and me. He could always tell when something was wrong and when he saw it in my face every single time he would ask, " What's going on in your tiny mind?" I never really knew how to answer him. He had that talent of knowing something wasn't right with me. When I got older we would just drive around and talk.

In the summer of 2009 my grandpa was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The doctors told him that he needed to go and treat it as soon as possible because it was just beginning. The doctor gave him a list of places he could be treated, and he picked Texas. My cousins live in Texas so they could visit them frequently. My grandparents left at the beginning of summer and didn't come back for about five months. I had so much to talk to my grandpa about! I couldn't wait for them to come home. The doctors told them they could leave and that they would call them with the test results when they were in. A few weeks later the results were in and everything was cleared up. God is a miracle worker! I never thought he would get sick again! He was such a strong man, but then it happened once again.

ऀIn the fall of 2010 the doctors found two tumors on his brain and he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He was so strong through it all. He got mad when people cried for him he always said he was going to be fine. The doctors told him that chemo would be the best choice. It was for a little while. He was about a few months into it and he got ammonia. He only had one kidney and his other one was failing. Three days on dialysis cleaning out his kidney, God works his mighty powers once again! My grandpa, Jim, was back to his normal self but he had to stay at the hospital. He got to come home for Christmas. He came home and about a week later he started acting weird again. I don't think God made up his mind. "Did he want him or not?."

My grandma brought him in and had a scan done. The back of his head was swollen from the tumors, and they are making him confused. He was brought to the cities and the doctors said he isn't strong enough to do chemo again. His last option is radiation, and that's what he chose. They were allowed to do the procedure down here in Willmar. He went everyday for 3 weeks. The radiation made him loose his hair but it helps him. They have an appointment set and I told my mom "I know it’s going to be okay.” My mom smiled at me, and that night after I was done with school I got a phone call, it was my mom and she told me all the news. His cancer was gone and the tumors shrunk. I was so happy!

ऀMy grandpa was doing very well from the beginning of school to the middle of September. He had even come to some of my volleyball games. On September 27, he got really sick again. He had no other options so my grandma, mom, aunt and uncles decided to put him on hospice. The hospice nurses brought in a hospital bed for him, and that's where he spent most of his time. I hoped God would be there and make him better like he always did, but he didn’t. My grandpa was just getting worse. I was angry with God, but I knew I shouldn't be. I should be glad that God is ready for him. I was being a selfish person. My grandpa became unresponsive in four days, and on October 5 at 4:23 p.m. he took his last breaths. He had such a fight. He was the strongest man I know. I know my grandpa, Jim, went to Heaven.

He was so strong and brave he makes me think twice, especially when I think I have it hard. He is my role model. It doesn’t even seem real that he is gone. I know he is in a better place and I WILL see him again. My Grandpa inspired me so much. I will never ever forget him.

I had a hard time trying to get through this, but once I think about seeing him out of pain and no suffering, I smile and think" Wow, I wish I was him!” I was so lucky to have him for as long as I did. I had so many memories with him that I will never forget. Without him, I wouldn't be here. I know he is watching me and helping me go down the right roads, keeping me from making some of the mistakes he made and making me a better person. I was very close to him and I will never forget anything he did for me: He brought me closer to God, helped me to rely on Him more than myself, and made me a better person. I am so thankful to have had such a wonderful Grandpa. I love him with all of my heart and I can't wait to see him again!

ऀ

Compare and Contrast essay

Quality or Price

Alexis Scott

English 9

Mrs. Pollema

When it comes to shopping, and what store to go to it mainly depends on what you are shopping for. Wal-Mart and Target are both among the top three best retail stores in the US. Target and Wal-Mart are both great stores with pros and cons of each. Even though there are many reasons to shop at Walmart, Target is by far more efficient.

    Wal-Mart is a great place to shop for anything you need: food, necessities and anything you could think of. You can find it at Walmart. The Slogan “Save money, Live Better” attracts people by just hearing it. Walmart has championed itself on its low prices for years. Is it really the cheapest of the Big Box discount stores?

Many surveys have been taken by women and they have all said the same. They like shopping at Target for the trendy fashions and such, but they like Wal-Mart for the tiny tools and low prices they can get them for. However, recent studies have come up with some eye opening results. Target’s prices have recently been dropped lower than Wal-Mart. Generally people would think Target is higher priced and has better quality. Now you can go to Target  and get your money’s worth.

Target is a Minnesota based  store, so of course many Minnesotans love it. I, myself, am one of them, but I like Wal-Mart too. Target has a lot of quality and efficiency. In my family, we go to target for clothes, toiletries and other needed stuff. We go to Wal-Mart for groceries and I think that’s how it is with a lot of other families too. Food at Wal-Mart is the best. They have sales all the time, and everything is reasonably priced.

Target and Wal-Mart each have good and bad things about them. They should just make a Tarmart and combine both stores features into one, then everything would be settled, but that won’t happen! So overall, there are many reasons to shop at Wal-Mart and Target, it just depends on what you are shopping for.

Persuasive Essay

                Multicultural or not, English is Still our First Language.       

Mrs. Pollema

 English 9

Alexis Scott

The United States is made up of a several different ethnic backgrounds, which includes different languages. Even though the US is becoming more multicultural, English is our language and everyone should know it.  America is doing quite a bit around the world, yet we are still a  little selfish. Is wanting people to speak English in America too much to ask for? When people come to America to live they should adapt to our living. One big thing would be to add the ability to speak English.

This past year, 2011 it was recorded that about 11.2 million illegal immigrants entered the US. That is outstanding! This is getting a little out of hand. So out of hand, that they can't control it anymore. A large ammout of the illegal immigrants can not speak English. This is a problem, and it is causing more and more problems everywhere. It has become a major issue in the medical field. Whenever a non-english-speaking patient comes into clinic or hospital, nurses and doctors spend about $2 per 5 minutes they are on the phone with a translator. That money is our tax money, this means we are spending our own working money on illegal immigrants or just stubborn “citizens.” This is ridiculous. If they move to America to live a life, they need to change.

Some standards to become a legal citizen of the US are: physical presence in the US, a continuous residence for for 5 years, a basic understanding of US history, and more importantly, the ability to read, write and speak ordinary English. So since that is a requirement, we shouldn’t have to learn other languages for them. They are suppose to know English. It’s just like us going to Mexico or Paris, we learn their language when we go there, we don’t make them learn English for the tourists. English is America’s first language, so if you’re a citizen in the US, you should know English.

What I am trying to say is that America is growing nation, full of all kinds of races that bring in a many of different traits and characteristics. That is OK, but what I don’t think is good is that we could forget our own culture and language, by changing for the other cultures. I know that being able to speak a second language won’t hurt us anyway, but not everyone wants to, so they don’t need to. This means everyone needs to be able to speak English in America.

Evermore

      English 9

Book Report on “Evermore” 

Alexis Scott

I am sure all of us at one point in time, more of when we were young, had dreams and hopes of having some sort of super powers or being some kind of superhero. But in my story Ever wants so much more than to be normal. Ever has the power to read peoples auras, hear their thoughts, and see their life story with one touch.

Ever Blooms life has changed dramatically, from a top class neighborhood in a big city to a small town of nothing. Ever and her family lived in the gated community. She had everything; the boyfriend, popularity, and she was even the cheer-leading captain. Her mom was a lovely lady that was a stay-at-home mom, her dad was a big business man and her little sister, Riley, was the best sister she could ever have.  But that life was taken from her within seconds, and the cause of it all could have very well been Ever, herself.

It all started with an adventure to her grandparents for the weekend, but of course, as a teenager, we can’t leave anything behind. This time it was a sweatshirt. Her red cheer sweatshirt. Ever begged and begged her father to turn around. Sure enough, her father was wrapped around her finger. He would do anything for his little girl. Turning around the suburban Ever got a weird feeling, knowing something bad was going to happen, and right at that moment, everything was taken from her. A deer had run in front of their vehicle and her dad swerved. Ever was the only one of her family that survived. She doesn’t remember anything except a smooth voice of a man speaking to her right after it all happened.

Now a year after the accident, Ever Bloom is not the same person. She has powers-powers to see peoples life stories with one touch, see how they are feeling through their auras and hears everyone’s thoughts around her by looking at them. To make things even worse, a new boy has come to school. Damen has caught her eye. A boyfriend is the last thing she wants, but she just simply cannot stay away from him. There is something different about this boy, yet she can’t figure out who he really is - or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she is falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

    I liked this book a lot, but it was kind of like a knock off of “Twilight.” It had almost the same sort of concept happening in the story, with the romantic part, the special powers and being immortal is like being a vampire. I still liked this book. I even liked it more than “Twilight”, by far. It has a very descriptive story line and makes you feel what Ever is feeling. The author Alyson Noel did a very good job of writing this thriller, filled with real life problems, love, and life changing choices.

Broken

                       BROKEN

                       English 9

                      Alexis Scott

Janey never could quite grasp the reason why everything happened to her, or so it seemed. Why did something tragic always had to strike her family or someone close to her? Janey Martin had big dreams for herself. Even though she was seven she had the biggest imagination you could ever find. That summer those big dreams were shattered and the imagination no longer existed.

    Janey was seven and a half years old when she was kidnapped from her small town home in Sunnyside California. She never thought she would ever be the same. But on this warm Tuesday afternoon, 22 years after Janey came back to her home, she realized that being kidnapped was just the beginning of her fears.

This is Janey’s Story…

The Martins lived in a gated community. They were known as the “hot shots” of the town. All of the kids wanted to play at the their house, because they had everything. Even though the Martins may have seemed to have it all together and the perfect life on the outside, they were a horrible wreck on the inside.

The Martins daughter Janey was just kidnapped. When people had discovered that Molly Martin, the Martins other daughter, was killed in a car accident, it was breaking news on the television and highlights in the news paper. The family couldn’t handle it anymore. After two months of searching for Janey they gave up. They thought she was dead. They had no hope. Mr. and Mrs. Martin and their only child remaining moved to Minnesota. Hoping for a better star, and forgetting all about Janey,

                                               Ten years later
           “I’m getting out of here, Lacey,” Janey whispered. “I want you to promise not to let them treat you and Owen badly once I’m gone. I want you to stay strong. I will come back for you I promise.” She finished as a tear ran down her face. Janey grabbed her tiny friend and held her tightly in her arms. Lacey and Owen were the only two people who had become close to Janey when she was kidnapped. Lacey was was six years old and Owen was her three year old brother. Janey had pretty much filled the role as their mother, they had no one else. Janey couldnt believe what she was doing, but she knew she would definetly come back for them. There was no question about that. Janey loved those kids as her own and she wasnt going to forget them.
            “I promise.” Lacey replied. “We will wait for you.”  Janey jumped up on to a chair and slid her tiny self through the window. She quickly raced away not knowing where she was until she saw the old A&W that her and her parents brought her to the day she was taken. She thought back to that day, that first day in May when everything was perfect. Her dad had just gotten a new job and they just inherited a bunch of money. That day didn’t end well. Janey walked a bit further to a train station. She realized she was finally 17 and could buy her own ticket. She stepped up to the window, took a breath, and cleared her throat.

“I’ll have one ticket to Sunnyside, California,” she told the clerk behind the window.

“The next train comes in in about five minutes,” the clerk responded.

“Thank you,” Janey replied solemnly. She took the ticket and sat down on the bench next to rail, millions of thoughts traveling through she mind. “What if they don’t recognize me? What if they don’t believe it really is me? What if they don’t want me?” These thoughts terrified Janey. “Should I go back? Of course you should, Janey.” she said to herself. Not returning home is out of the question.

The train ride wasn’t that long, It seemed very quick considering all the things she had been wondering the whole ride there. Janey was a nervous wreck when the train pulled to a screeching holt. When she stepped off the train, she remembered exactly where she was. Her parents use to take her and her siblings to her grandparents house on the train once every month. It was one of the most exciting times her and her brother and sister would look forward to. She went right to the corner of the street. She only lived a block from the train station. It was short enough to walk. Janey turned the corner of her street and suddenly a shield of protection fell over her. She had felt this feeling once before yet it was not arriving. It was leaving her, and it was that day, that day the everything was ruined.

Janey stepped up to the gate and recognized Mack, the gate keeper. But she doubted he knew who she was. She pretended to be a house guest.

           “Hi. I’m here to meet with the Martins.”
           “Um.. There are no Martins that live here,” Mack replied.
           ‘What do you mean? Don’t Jack and Leah Martin still live here?
    “Um, I don’t think you have the right neighborhood. Are you looking for the Mayerans?”

“No! The Martins! I know they are here. They live  in house  402 on the right side of the road with their 2 kids, Molly and Shawn!” she stated firmly as a tear trickled down her cheek.

           “Im sorry dear, but the Martins left 10 years ago. They moved to Minnesota after they lost both of their daughters.”
           “What! What do you mean both? Both daughters? What happened to Molly?” Janey asked as her voice quivered.
           “Molly Martin was hit by a car, three months after Janey was taken,” Mack replied.
Janey turned away, tears falling down her cheeks like a waterfall. She had never felt this way. She felt like something that belonged to her and only her was taken, like she would never see them again. She looked up at Mack and she saw a bit of sympathy in his eyes.
    “They are gone, Is there anything I can..” Mack started and at that very moment the ground fell from beneath her and everything within Janey gave out.