Walking Tacos

The walking taco is a taco that is able to be eaten while walking. The walking taco has all the ingredients of a real taco. But it has Fritos instead of taco shells. It has lettuce and tomato, cheese, and lots of other ingredients. The tacos are very yummy.

What Makes Life Significant to Me?

My family is what makes life significant to me. Just having a life is significant to me. I can't imagine not having a life or living. Love makes life significant. Being smart. Having an education. Life is what makes my life significant. The people who care about me. Everything is this world makes life significant to me. Life is important to me.

Does Patriotism Still Matter?

Patriotism does still matter and always will in my opinion. Patriotism is so important because it’s being proud of your nation and your people. If you’re not proud of your nation then you’re giving away your culture. Having patriotism means and shows that you love and respect your country and would do anything for it. If you’re not patriotic and you’re living in this country then you shouldn’t be here because you chose to live here so you should show respect for this country. If no one in this country had patriotism we wouldn’t have any soldiers to fight our battles for us. Without patriotism corruption will succeed. We need patriotism like peanut butter needs jelly. When you think of America you think of patriotism and how we are one country. If we didn’t have patriotism our whole country would fall apart and we wouldn’t have much of a country remaining. The one thing we do that everyone can choose to do to show that they are patriotic is say the “Pledge of Allegiance”. This is just pledging yourself to your country. Patriotism is one of the most important things a country needs to stay together. Since our country has patriotism we are a lot stronger than most other countries. It’s what keeps us together. Look at other countries that don’t have patriotism. They’re falling apart and attacking other countries. Our country is so important I cannot imagine it without having patriotism. When you think of America, you automatically think of patriotism. I love this country and can’t imagine not being here and not having any kind of patriotism. The main definition of a patriot is someone who is loyal to their country. By that definition I am a patriot and very proud of it.

Lying

Why are you always lying to us Lydia?” asked my mom.
“Because you never trust me to tell the truth!” I yelled.
“I’m sorry maybe I should trust you a little more.”
In the story “The Lie” by Kurt Vonnegut a boy named Eli going away to a boarding school where all the men in his family have gone. Eli, the main character, lies about something very big. In the end, lying is not always the best way to go. Kurt Vonnegut the author of “The Lie” chose to write it in a 3rd person omniscient because it let Vonnegut reveal all the thoughts and feelings of the character. This would allow the reader to know more about the characters than they know about each other. The read will probably like that Kurt Vonnegut chose the 3rd person omniscient for the story because then you get to know how all the characters feel and know what their thinking. You get to read and know exactly how Eli is feeling about the lie, how Mrs. Remenzel is wondering how many Remenzels have gone to Whitehill, and how Dr, remenzel reacts to his son not getting in. What’s the mode for this story? The mode of this story is tragedy. Eli the main character is in a conflict because he knows he didn’t do very well on his exams. The main character, Eli rises to power when his parents find out about the lie. The tragic flaw is that Eli lied to his parents and didn’t give them the letter that he didn’t get into Whitehill. Eli’s father told him since he is a Remenzel not to ask for anything special but once Eli’s father finds out that he didn’t get in Dr. Remenzel tries to get all the teachers to make an exception for Eli since he’s a remenzel which is the tragic fall. The story ends in a loss because Eli didn’t get into Whitehill. The story the lie starts off as Eli the main character is on his way to Whitehill Boarding School with his parents. Eli isn’t very enthusiastic about going to Whitehill. His dad, Dr. Remenzel and most of the men in his family have gone to Whitehill. Mrs. Remenzel is his wife and Eli’s mother. Eli has a big secret which he hopes his parents won’t find out about. Have you ever told a huge lie before? I think most teenagers like Eli have lied before. Lying is never good and telling the truth is a lot better. Even though Eli lied to his parents they still love him and don’t mind that he lied. I recommend reading this short story.

Love

What do you think the meaning of love is? Love has a different meaning to everyone but can have the same feeling. How can you tell if you’re in love? You can have love for a friend or friends and that certain someone too.

How do you know if you’re in love? Well, first you have to know the meaning of love. One meaning I found was, “a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.” Two quotes that really explain what love is are, “if you love something let it go, if it comes back to you then it’s yours, but if it doesn’t, it never was” and “love isn’t finding someone you can live with… its finding someone you can’t live without.” Some signs you may know your love are, you feel happy when you’re with this person, this person makes you happy even when you’re at your worst, and you feel empty without this person in your life. You may feel this towards a crush or a person you like or love. These emotions you can feel towards a best friend.

Love between friends is so important because if you don’t like the person your friends with, then why be friends with them? Best friends are meant to be with you to help you through the tough times when you aren’t doing very well. So love them because you never know when they might leave. You never know when life might end so take every moment you have with your friends and make it the best moment ever because every 60 seconds you spend sad, angry, or depressed is another minute of happiness you will never get back. One story that this could relate to is The Black Stallion and The Red Mare. This follows some of the same situations with a lover.
If you have a significant lover you may not know if they are right for you. If you have a strong feeling with them then you know that you really like them. But if they do not feel the same way then they aren’t the right one for you so you may want to move on. You can find another person like the one you had before it may be harder, but there is that one person who a lot of people call a soul mate out there for you. Everyone has that certain person.

Everyone has a friend or friends out there that they love more than anything and that significant other and can tell what love is. Love is such a strong word, so first know if you truly mean it before you say it to just anyone.

The Woods

There’s these old woods right behind my house. Oh by the way my names Jose. So the woods are supposedly haunted by an abhorrent killer. I didn’t believe this at first but then I got to see it myself.

So one day it was a nice fall afternoon on a Saturday. My friend Martin and I were playing baseball by the woods. I hit the ball a little too hard and it went into the woods. Martin said he would go and get it but I was a little scared for him but he still went in. I waited about ten minutes for him but he didn’t come back out. I thought this was kind of strange because I swear I didn’t hit the ball that hard. I decided to be brave and go into the woods to find him. I walked about 20 feet and found the ball but there was no Martin. I ran further into the woods but still couldn’t find him. I had a horrible feeling that the murderer had gotten to him. I started running faster and faster. But I still couldn’t find him. I screamed his name as loud as I could.

I finally went home. I didn’t eat dinner that night and when it came time to go to sleep I slipped out my window with a blanket and a pillow and my teddy bear that this girl Lydia gave me. I know I’m a dork. But I couldn’t sleep without it. I ran into the woods and found a nice dry spot and tried to fall asleep. I didn’t hear anything, so finally I was fast asleep.

When I woke up I was at home again in my bed. I didn’t remember coming home last night or this morning. Oh crap! My mom must have noticed I wasn’t home and found me in the woods. Quickly I jumped out of bed and ran into the kitchen. Mom was making pancakes; she didn’t say anything about me being outside. I must have slept walked home. Weird.

I went back to bed and slept for a few more hours. When I woke up I went and got dressed and searched for Martin by myself. Before I knew it I looked at the clock on my phone and had to go back home for dinner. I would look for Martin after I ate.

After I ate fast I went back outside and back into the woods. It was way darker than I thought it was so I had to get a flashlight from the garage. I ran into the woods and saw a figure walking far ahead of me. It could only be Martin or the killer. I swallowed and went forward slowly. The person stopped and turned around to look at me. I felt a huge relief when I saw it was Martin.

“Jose you have to run!”

“Why?”

“Because I’m the killer and you have to run and tell the cops because the killer part of me is going to kill you next.”

“The killer part of you?” I said scarcely.

“Yes, I have split personalities one where I’m normal and one where I kill people.”

“How many people have you killed Martin?”

“18 people.”


I turned around and started to run as fast as I could go and I ran all the way to the police station. When I got there they asked me why I was all out of breathe. They knew the story of the murderer in the woods so I told them I just found the killer and told them where to find him.

Martin was sentenced to the electric chair but first he went to a mental hospital for his split personalities. Martin would always be my best friend but he was also a murderer. I was just happy that he hadn’t killed me and he was now dead. Or was he?

A Day No Pigs Would Die

I think that this was a good book that some kids could relate too. Especially Amish people could relate too because they do only dress nicely on days they go to church. They do make most of their money from working on their farms and building buggies and working with their animals. They also do not believe in electricity or frills. When you do grow up on a farm you tend to see things differently than other people who didn’t grow up on a farm. I think that’s how Rob was and people didn’t understand. Kids at school looked at him differently because his mother did make his clothes and he didn’t go to the store and buy them. His education was not as good in English because his fathers’ was not good so he believed that he didn’t need one because he was just going to work on a farm. Though education is always important no matter what. Also he wasn’t a kid to think before doing something which when he helped Mr. Tanner’s prized milking cow give birth was a good thing because maybe if he would have thought about it he wouldn’t have done it. If he hadn’t he wouldn’t have gotten Pinky.

Uninvited

How would you feel if you were being stalked by your ex-boyfriend who is now an undead vampire? Well Jordan gets stalked and abused by her ex-boyfriend which today is a very serious problem to most teenage girls.


Jordan the main character is unfortunately being stalked by her ex-boyfriend that’s supposed to be dead. So when he shows up at her window begging her to invite him in something’s got to be wrong. She’s pretty freaked out but there’s something inside her that wants to invite him in. But would this be safe? He’s supposed to be dead so why is he here? He sits at her window every night waiting for her to invite him in while she sleeps. This is so annoying to her that she cant sleep so she turns to drinking and smoking as her “medicine” but really its not helping. She’s afraid to go out at night because she knows he’s out there. She thinks to herself “why does he want me” a lot. Then she realizes only vampires can come into your house if there invited in. Now that she knows he’s a vampire she’s more scared then ever. He tells her how he was attacked and how the beast was so strong and he couldn’t fight it and if she lets him in he could make her one of him. One night he takes one of her friend to the beach and she finds him there trying to kill her so she gets her other friends there and they fight him until they finally kill him. Now that that’s done she’s so relived. She’s finally done being abused and stalked by him now only if it were easier like some other girls have it.

Many teen girls are either stalked by ex-boyfriends or were abused. Although Jordan wasn’t physically abused she was mentally and emotionally abused. Most girls who are abused by there boyfriends wont tell anyone because there afraid that if they tell someone there boyfriends will hurt them more. Most of them either turn to alcohol or drugs. Which wont help and also is unhealthy and harmful to their body’s. It’s best to get out of the relationship if your boyfriend is abusing you. Now stalking is a bit different. If your being stalked its best to tell your parents and maybe get the police involved. Some stalking problems are little ones so if you have one just go up to the person and ask them to stop, now if they don’t this is a good time to get the police involved. Some people will never get the police involved and sometimes it goes away and sometimes it just gets worse. The best thing to do is talk to your parents about it first.


Jordan had gone through so much in the story that many teenage girls go through everyday. This book was a very thrilling book that sucks you in to keep reading more.

Speak

The book I chose to write about is Speak. It is a book that we’ll read in 8th grade but I read it before. It is a very good but sad book but it helps you look at things in a different way. The book is very confusing but it’s also a movie and you might know somebody who has had this happen to them like I have.

The story is about a teenage girl who was raped at a party. I’m not going to give you a description of the book because I think you might already know what it is about. I think many teenagers who have gone through things like this would know how it feels. The girls name is Melinda Sordino. Melinda was raped at an end of the year party right before she starts high school. You can tell already that she was very young and had no control over what had happened and didn’t deserve this. Throughout the story we hear Melinda’s thoughts and how she has lost her voice and cannot speak hence the title Speak. She has lost her voice not literally but figuratively and has no friends to help her get through this. When she was at the party after she was raped she calls the cops but nobody knows why so everyone at that party hates her even her best friend. She refers to the guy that raped her as “IT.” “IT’s” real name is Andy Evans who is dating Melinda’s ex best friend. She makes one friend named Dave Petrakis who you can tell likes her but she doesn’t realize it. Her other best friend would be her art teacher Mr. Freeman who gave her a yearlong project to create as many art pieces as she can that has to do with trees. She never told anyone about what happened the night of the party. Her parents don’t know and so when she doesn’t speak and isn’t the same anymore they think something is wrong with her so they take her to a “shrink.” At the end she finally tells someone.

They made the book into a movie in 2004. The movie followed the plotline of the story very well. The book was very much like movie. Melinda Sordino is played by Kristen Stewart. There are some parts that are different in the book than the movie but aren’t there in every movie that’s a book. Many of the parts are just like the ones in the book. I don’t like when they turn a book into a movie and it nothing like the book. Like how they made Twilight and New Moon, they were nothing like the books were.

I know that hundreds of teens go through stuff like this every day. I had a friend Justin that had this happen to him a few years before I met him and he said it was hard to get through at first but he did get through it. He said that he got through it by having friends there for him and his family there. They finally caught the guy who did this and he was put in jail. Justin told me that he was so relieved when the guy was put away so nobody would have to go through what he had to.

This book has changed my perspective on things like this that happen in the world. Back in the old days things like this happened but people didn’t do as much about it as they do know. The movie was just as good as the book and my friend Justin liked it too.

The Third Wish

Imagine that you had three wishes. Would you waste them? The story “The Third Wish” is about a man named Mr. Peters who has three wishes. It’s a romance with symbolism that reminds me of “Aladdin”.

First, this story follows the plotline of a romance. It takes place in an unrealistic world. You know it is unrealistic because Mr. Peters saves a sawn that turns into a little man who gives him three wishes. He uses his first wish to have a wife as beautiful as the forest. The mild conflict that he realizes that his wife Lieta is a swan and is lonely without her swan sister. The conflict is resolved when Mr. Peters dies with a smile on his face.

Secondly, Joan Aiken used symbolism in her story. The “birds stopped singing”, which might symbolize something eerie. Lietas “skin was as white as the feathers on a swan”. That text symbolizes that Lieta could be a swan since Mr. Peters wished for a wife as beautiful as the forest. She became “thin and pale”. That might symbolize illness or possibly death.

Thirdly, this story reminds me of “Aladdin”. Mr. Peters and Aladdin both had three wishes. Aladdin used his first wish to become handsome like a prince so he could get a wife where Mr. Peters wishes for a wife. Aladdin used his second wish to save himself from drowning. Although Mr. Peters didn’t use his last wish Aladdin did and he wished to set the jinee free just as he had promised he would.

This story has said that you don’t need everything to be happy. What you have might just be enough. This story is a romance that has many symbols in it and also reminds me of “Aladdin”.

All Night Dance Party

Would you like to go to an all night dance party? I would love to go to this party but there’s one little problem. Before I can go I have to get my parents to say yes. This might be hard but I can do it. This party would be my ticket to being popular. Now it’s time to get my parents to say yes.

Three Favorite Books

What are your three favorite books? Mine are Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, Speak, and If I Have A Wicked Stepmother Where’s My Prince. These are my three favorite books. There are all good books. You might want to check them out soon.

The first book is called Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. This book is about a girl who is told my a strange, mysterious guy that she is a vampire princess from Romania. He tells her that when they were born they were betrothed and he is her vampire prince. Now she has to choose between a vampire prince or a human she has liked since she was little. I love this book because of the romance and the arts that have you reading non stop. This book might make you cry like I did. This is a heartbreaking story that I would love to read again.

My next favorite book is called Speak. It is about a girl who was raped at a party and so she called the cops and when they came people got arrested. Nobody knows why she called the cops and so everyone at that party hates her. She is now in high school and has to go through it with no friends. This is also a very sad book. They made a movie on it. I like this book because it tells you how much pain she has and what it would be like to be her. My next book is quite good too.

The next book I like is called If I Have A Wicked Stepmother Where’s My Prince. This book is kind of like Cinderella. There is a girl named Lucy and she has no friends, an evil stepmother, and evil stepsisters. But her dad is still alive. One day prince charming notices her. But there’s a bit of a twist at the end of the story. You will have to read it to find out.
These are my top three favorite books. There are very good. There compelling, fun, and can be confusing. But I love them.

By Cheyenne Duesterbeck

My Perfect Bedroom

Imagine that one day you walked into your bedroom and it became your dream bedroom. First when you walk into my room you see the very bright, colorful walls. You also can hear All Time Low blasting from the computer. My dream bedroom is every teenage girls dream room.

First when you walk into my room, you see a door that leads to my huge walk in closet. My closet is filled with brand new designer clothes. It is very clean and organized. All my shirts are color organized. All my shirts, tank tops, and hoodies are at the top, and all my jeans, skirts, shorts, and tights below all my shirts. Right under the jeans are all my shoes. Most of my shoes are Converse All Stars. The walls of my closet are almost as colorful as the walls in my bedroom.

When you walk out of my closet you can see my bright, colorful walls. The ceiling is hot pink. Then the rest of the walls are purple, lime green, blue, yellow, and orange. My room is very bright and colorful. Then there are posters of famous people, bands, movies, and T.V. shows all over my walls. When you walk out of my closet there’s a door right next to it.

There’s this room with an open door that you can see into. You see a lot of mirrors everywhere. That’s my own dance studio. My dance studio has a huge boom box that can hook up to my ipod and play any songs I want. There are speakers all around the room, and nice wooden floors. It’s so big it could fit a whole entire dance team in it if I wanted to.

My perfect bedroom is almost every fashionable, yet cool, girl’s dream room. Brightly beautiful walls that when the light hits them the room changes colors. The song “Breakeven” by The Script plays through out my room and bounces off my walls. My bedroom is the best bedroom ever. What would your dream bedroom look like if you had one?

Spring Break

Finally spring break was here! I was sitting in study hall waiting for the clock to turn to 3:30 today was the last day till spring break. Me, Lisa, and Blair are going to Blair’s dads cabin up north. Then Ian, Josh, and Tony are coming with us. There’s this beautiful lake right by the cabin. The bell finally rang and I was the first one out the door and to my locker.
I put my books in my bag and closed my locker. As I closed my locker Josh was standing there.
“Hey cutie”, said Josh.
“What do you want?” I asked him.
“Just happy I get to go to the cabin tomorrow.” He said with a little to much enthusiasm.
“I have to go, bye”, I said and left.
“Bye”, he yelled as I left.
I met Blair and Lisa, my two best friends outside as we walked to my car. I had a black and yellow Camero. I got as a sweet 16 birthday present. Just one of the many perks of being the daughter of a doctor and lawyer. I unlocked my car and we all got in. We left school and headed to the diner by our houses.
The diner is where most kids hung out after school. As we walked in we went and sat at the booth in the back. We all ordered a milkshake and then started to talk.
“So tomorrow we’ll meet at my house at 8 o’clock.” I told them.
“Ok, so what were you and Josh talking about?” they asked.
“Nothing he’s just happy to be coming tomorrow with us”. I said.
“Whatever”
After we were done we paid and then we left. I took Blair and Lisa home and dropped them off. I went home. I parked my car outside then went inside. I walked through the living room. The TV was on and my little brother Jake was watching the baseball game. He was like any other 15 year old boy.
“Hey, how was school?” I asked him
“Fine just happy it’s spring break.” Jake replied.
“Well I’ll be upstairs packing, bye”.
“Bye”.
I walked up the stairs to my room. When I opened my door I went overt to my window and opened my curtains. When I opened them I saw Josh walking to the door. I quickly ran door the stairs and opened the door when the doorbell rang. He was kind of cute and it didn’t hurt that he liked me too.
“Hey come on in.”
“Ok” he said.
“What can I help you with”? I said kind of awkwardly.
“I was just wondering what time we’ll be leaving tomorrow.”
“Were meeting here at 8:00 and it’s a two hour drive . Me, Blair, Lisa are driving in my car and you, Ean, and Tony are going in Tony’s car”. I told him.
“Cool um bye. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Bye”
I went back up to my room . Josh was cute. He had medium length hair that fell across his right eye. It was deep brown. He also had a great smile. He always wore skinny jeans (but not the tight girl pants ones) a t-shirt and skater shoes.
Me, I’m pretty I think. I have long brown wavy hair. I have pretty smile too. Im medium tan and have blue eyes. I sometimes wear dresses, jeans, or skirts with t-shirts.
Today I was wearing a black and red dress with a black cardigan because it was strapless. I was wearing plain black ballet flats. My hair was down and wavy with a thin white headband.
I walked into my closet and started to pack my clothes. I couldn’t wait this was going to be fun. I hoped.
I deiced to get ready for bed. I sat in bed under the covers and read a book.
I woke up to my alarm and a knock on the door.
“Come in”
Blair and Lisa walked in and said good morning.
I got ready while Blair and Lisa talked.
After that we went downstairs to wait for the boys. I couldn’t wait.
The door bell rang. I got up and answered it. Of course it was the boys. Me, Blair and Lisa put our stuff in the back of the car and got in.
Then we were on out way to the cabin with the boys following behind. The wind was just light and felt warm.
It was a long ride but seemed to go by fast. Finally we were there. It was so beautiful. We grabbed our stuff and went into the cabin. It was huge inside. There was 3 floors.
“Wow this is amazing” Josh said.
“Yeah”
“Im going to get changed.” I said
I went upstairs and got changed into my swimsuit.
We went out to the lake and jumped in. it was freezing.
Before we knew it it was already nighttime. We were inside but Ian and Lisa went outside. Josh went out too and I stayed inside.
There were some screams. I went outside to check on them but found Lisa and Ian dead. They had been stabbed. I started to cry but Josh held me up. Luckily he didn’t get killed we went inside and grabbed out stuff. And then left for home.
When we got home Josh stayed with me and we sat on the couch and feel asleep. When I woke up with him we turned on the news. There was a story on Lisa and Ian’s death. I turned to Josh.
There was an evil smile on his face.