Category: 2016-17 Submissions

Corey, Casey, Mary, they all smell like imposters when strangers try to pronounce my name.
But my name, Carey Beth, smells like Niagara Falls and an Irish farm.
My names tastes like homemade chocolate chip cookies warm, fuzzy and sweet.
My name sounds like a rushing wave of mystery and winter.
My name feels like a warm blanket wrapping around you and then dropping you in the deep, cold ocean.
My name looks turquoise and bright, shining with possibility.
I am a perfect day interrupted by a sloppy, eager, happy, awkward mess.
When I cry I am a raging hurricane
When I laugh I sound like a thunderstorm
I am the loudest person in the room
I like myself
I’m worth a lot
And you can’t tell me that I’m not
Because you can’t see inside of me

 

Bright lights
City nights
London
Crown and jewels
Fancy shoes
London

I am from soccer balls,
from soccer fields,
and video games

I am from the smell of shocking peppermint

I am from training,
from strength,
and from love

I am from pecan trees
and poinsettias

I am from Boston baseball
and from striking hazel eyes,
from Jacob and Gabby

I’m from crying in emotional movies
and waiting for the winning goal to be scored when Barcelona plays,

from “Never stop!” and “Strive for greatness!”

I’m from Hail Mary’s
and Glory Be’s

from the death of my grandfather

I am from the hallways
in the back of my house
where the pictures on the walls
desperately
want to be looked at.

They hold the haunting
memories
of what once was,
tomorrow.

 

My family is like the ocean
My mom is the water, without her theres no ocean
My dads the sand hes soft to the touch and always the first thing you love
My sisters the shells they are easy to catch but sometimes hard to be found in one piece
My brothers the island far in the distance, because hes already off on his own
And im the waves lapping into my familys lives I can be big or small bit im always there.

I’m in your backpack!
You’ve checked everywhere but here.
Sixteen texts, seven calls, four FaceTime’s
I’m lonely in here
It’s dark
I’m hungry
I’m bored
Woah! You picked me up.
I hear you sighing softly
Is it because you lost me?
“I’m here!” I want to shout
But I know you can’t hear me.

 

I am from brushes and rubber bands
from dark chocolate
and powder sugar

I am from the white house that sits upward

I am from playing games with my brother
from moving to a bigger house
and from the brown chair my mom reads in

I am from the pink flowers
and the butterflies

I am from the dinners on Wednesday
and brown eyes
from Noah and Mila

I am from the tamales on Christmas
and the beach in the summer

From I love you and good-bye

From Santa and the Easter Bunny

I am from mom with many dogs

from tacos and enchildas

from Killer the fluffball

I am from the top shelf in a little
book filled with my fantastic family

 

My family is a pencil pouch
My mom is the pouch, she holds us together with love
My sister is the colors, bright, silly and funny
My brother is the sharpener, always there when we need him
My dad is the pencil, always trying new things and always by my side
I’m the eraser, keeping positive thoughts and erasing the bad ones away

 

In the night, you toss and turn
And sometimes dreams that burn
But even then, you still have dreams
that sometimes make you beam

 

A fire burning,
flickering
dwindling,
extinguishing,
leaving weary people in a endless tide of nothing.

The cold consumes the warmth,
chasing it away.

 

Violence has not personally happened to me but it is going around throughout the world. It seems every day we are hearing about acts of violence on the news or through people we know. Even at school we have lockdown drills to practice in case some dangerous person tried to hurt us or threaten us. We have been having lots of drills because there have been lots of attack this year including on school campuses.

In my opinion, violence usually starts when two people or groups have a disagreement. Some acts of violence have started over stupid things like T-ball games, sneakers, and road rage. When it starts to get violent is when one or more people from a group do or say something to make the other side mad. Things start escalating and then get worse and worse. It will start with yelling, then bad language, next a little pushing then punching and if it’s that bad maybe even killing. Sometimes violence doesn’t end for years like family disputes, gang rivalries and wars between nations.

One way I can try to prevent violence is by not being a bystander. If I feel safe I can try to break up a fight to the best as my ability. I can also stop a serious argument that I know can turn into something bad by offering help or by coming up with a solution. With so much bullying going on in schools another way I can try and prevent violence is by being nice, and using kind words to people even if I don’t know them that well. You never know what kind of a day someone is having. It can take as little as one word at the wrong time to push someone to cause violence to himself or others.