Sunday, December 13, 2009

Emma stood stirring the apples in the pot while her mother peeled them. Emma didn't want to be stuck inside making applesauce and apple cobbler, although the food was good. She didn't think that one night of good food was worth all the stirring and peeling, stirring and peeling. Emma's mother did, though.
"Emma, I'll be right back. If there's anything, I'll be upstairs looking for that old wooden spoon. It stirs much better," Emma's mom said."Just holler if you need me." Emma nodded absent-mindedly. She stared out the glass window at the snow. It was cold, but Emma longed to be outside anyway. Her mother had said when she asked, "There is absolutely now way you can go outside in this weather. We have to make a nice dinner for your father and brother. Don't even think about sneaking out, either. You'll catch a cold." But as Emma stood in the kitchen alone, she knew that she could sneak outside and be back in before her mother could find the spoon. That spoon had been lost for ages, and it was unlikely her mother would find it. Her mother was also an independant person who never gave up, and she would sit upstairs for an hour looking for that spoon.
Emma peered up the creaky wooden stairs and saw no sign of her mother. She crept slowly to the door and went outside where the snow was softly falling.

It's Not That Easy

Being me isn't that easy,
waking up every morning to face new troubles,
to pursue a dream that feels impossible.

Being yourself isn't that easy,
feeling like you're a nobody
in crowded middle school halls.

Feeling left out of a friendship
isn't that easy;
it feels like someone just
slapped you in the face.

Whether it's picking out clothes
or picking out your friends,
everybody knows it's not easy.
Nothing is.

A Tree is A Metaphor for Life

A Tree is a Metaphor for Life
This was an essay I had to write for Language Arts comparing a tree to life.

A growing tree is like a young child; it is full of life and love, it is strong and beautiful, it grows, and it changes. Trees give humans more air to breathe, but they also provide beautiful sights in all the different seasons. Like humans, some trees are big, some are small, some are short, and some are tall, but each one is beautiful and unique. A tree is a symbol for all people because it can stay firmly planted in the ground while storms are pushing on its trunk and blowing off its branches. To people, this means that during troubled times in our own life, we can hold our ground and not change our opinions or move where we are standing because someone else wants us to. Like a young child, a young tree can grow stronger and larger each day.
Trees are beautiful and amazing to look at in any season. In the fall, many trees are full of bright red, orange, yellow, brown, and green leaves that look like scenes from paintings. Evergreen trees, which are incredibly special and beautiful because we use them as a symbol at Christmas, stay green during all the seasons. In the winter, the branches can become covered with snow and remind a person of their favorite Christmas song. Trees do not hibernate like bears, but they simply get through the winter and wait for a warm season to come. In the spring, some trees grow little flowers, and their leaves begin to return. In the summer, the leaves are green again and the sun shines brightly on them in the warm air. Some trees will stand through the summer lightning storms, the winter blizzards, and the chilly whipping fall wind, but other trees will fall. Humans have to know when they should stand strong and hold their ground and when they should back down like a fallen tree.
Trees are strong and wonderful, yet many people regard them as nothing. They often have it hard in the winter. They do not wear coat to protect their trunk from the wind and snow, nor do they wear a hat to keep their leaves from dancing, fluttering, or falling off the branches. The bare branches do not stay warm because gloves warm them. Humans have all these wonderful items of clothing to keep them warm all winter, and so that snow does not seep inside their clothing and make them cold. Although trees do not have to deal with the everyday stress humans have to endure, especially during the holiday season, trees deal with more physical issues, so trees can be just as strong as any grown adult.
Young trees and seedlings need sunlight, water, and care to grow; the same way a young child needs care from a parent or guardian, love, water, and food. Someone may plant a seed, so that a beautiful tree might one day grow there, and that person might care for the tree. The tree gets care from nature around it because it needs sunlight to make its food for the leaves, and it needs rain to get water, which helps it grow. Both young trees and young children need all of these to survive, but the tree does not need human care. Young trees grow up mostly on their own, but most children would not have the skills to raise themselves.
Any tree is beautiful, strong, incredible, and it grows, changes, and it is a symbol for all people to stand firm in the ground, even when wind is whipping at your trunk in an attempt to blow you over. Unless they are planted in a nursery or have special human care, many young trees raise themselves from small seeds. Some reach great heights, growing thick trunks and long branches over a period of time. Many children grow up and become tall, accomplished adults who can pull themselves through any storm that comes in their path. Trees are a symbol for love, but most of all, trees are a symbol for life.