Ariana Williams

               Every person makes choices and lives with the consequences. Boo Radley was a very rowdy kid when he was younger and earlier on in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird.  At the beginning of the novel, Boo Radley hung out with rowdy kids from the Old Sarum. Also, during his childhood he stabbed his father with a pair of scissors. Although he was very intimidating at the beginning, Jem and Scout found his sweet side when he decided to start leaving gifts in the knothole of the oak tree. Throughout this book Jem and Scout were very afraid of Boo but towards the end they got closer to him.

               Boo Radley hung out with kids from the Old Sarum when he was younger. He resisted arrest from the police then got locked up in the courthouse outhouse.  The whole Old Sarum Gang got charged with something.  On page 11 it states the charges, there were, “Charges of disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace and hearing of a female,batter.”  Boo Radley made very bad decisions when he was younger.  If he hung out with anyone other than Old Sarum gang, he might've been different in his years to come.  The main consequence from hanging out with with kids from the Old Sarum gang was that it started his life off with something bad and from that point on he was a very mean person to himself and others.  

One day in Boo’s childhood he stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors while he was cutting newspaper clippings.  When Scout was describing the Radley place she stated the rumor that she had heard which said, “His father entered the room.  As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parents leg, pulled them out wiped them in his pants, and resumed his activities.”  Boo was very aggressive when this happens and the fact that Scout described this rumor very descriptive in the novel, it made Boo seem more frightening than he actually was.  

Although Boo was very bad child and had a not so great childhood he was a very caring person to some towards the end of the story.  Jem scout received gifts in the hole of the oak tree from Boo Radley.  Radley was a very nice person but the way people saw him they thought he was mean! On page 46 Ms. Maudie said, “He always spoke nicley to me, no matter what folks said he did.” At the end of the story, Boo Radley was becoming sweet to the kids.  Jem and Scout found Boo’s sweet side at the end of the book.  

Every person makes choices and lives with regrets.  Boo was a very rude kid when he was younger.   At the beginging of the novel Boo hung out with Rowdy kids and made his worst.  During his childhood he stabbed his dad and made him more scary.  He ended up finding his sweet side!  Radley was a very bad kid but as you can see people change for a reason.      

Brave old man

Old Man and The Sea

Ernest Hemingway

Scribner Paperback Fiction

1952

Fiction

The Brave Old Man

The main character of this book is Santiago and of course, the marlin.  The setting of the book is the late 1940’s and a small village in cuba and mainly in the gulf of Mexico. This book shows struggle and honor, defeat and pride.  The conflict of this story is how Santiago has to struggle to get this great Marlin and return him back home safely.

 

My quote from the book is this, “Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”

― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea.  What i think this quote means is try your hardest and know how to do something without luck, and when you get lucky you'll know you did it without that luck.  I agree with the quote.  I agree with it because if you want to become good at something you practice most of the time it isn't luck at all.

    This book is good but a little boring.  I'm not that interested in fishing.  “Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea” i found this quote on page 10, i picked it because eyes say a lot about people.  Blue eyes to me are a crystal blue sea.  It stood out to me because hes always on the water and they are similar.   It made me feel as if i was on a boat tanning in the sun.

Old Man and the Sea is very similar to, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, by Dr. Seus.  They are similar because they both talk about fish.  They also have a very good description to it and the plots are both well written.  Some of the settings are the same too, they're both either near or on the water.  

“A man can be destroyed but not defeated”  I am not sure exactly what it means but i think it might mean if a man is destroyed they are destroyed emotionally but they're not defeated because there still themselves.  i agree with it because anyone can fix what is wrong.  For example, if you drop a vase on the ground you can glue it back together, now if you ran it over with your car its destroyed.

This book reminded me a lot about me deep sea fishing trip 3 years ago.  Obviously the fish i caught weren’t as cool as this marlin but i was proud of my work.  Sitting there on the boat was boring but as soon as the fish hit the hook i was on a role.  It didn't affect me in any kind of way.  I didn't find most of it engaging but i had to read it.

I give the book 1 and a half paws!                

Drive on a DIrt Road

Monday mornings are terrible to wake up to. Every teenager in the world dreads going to school so early every morning, especially on a monday. Hi, I’m Maddi Florence. let me tell you a little about myself, I play 3 sports and I’m not the smartest kid in our school. School sucks, teachers are mean and teenaged girls are a pain in the ass. Walking through the halls in high heels and being captain of the cheerleading squad makes you a stuck up, I’m going to stop there.

I’m a sophmore in a small town up in the mountains. The weather here isn't any different then it is in the city. Rainy days are the worst days we’re im from, there isnt anything at all to do. Its softball season now and its almost over. Schools almost out and I still have nothing to do with my life. After the week goes by and the bell rings on the last day of school, my summer officially begins.

DING,DING,DING! SCHOOLS OUT! Shoulders bumping,papers flying, seniors screaming, thats the sounds of the last day of school. Opening the door into the hallway from the locker room it seems quite. With the glove in my left hand and the bat in my right my water bottle ended up rolling on the floor next to the hottest kid in our school, Nick Smith. My face felt like it just was punched, I was in shock. “There ya go” nick handed me the bottle and winked while slowly backing away. Dragging my feet in the hundred degree weather isn't anything but terrible! “Mom, i’m home” I shouted from the front door. Shaking the mouse on the computer, 37 Notifications. Opened all of them up, it was a picture of me, but it wasn't me. This picture was a half naked chick with my head on the body, I don't know if i should be upset or let it slide, then I read the comments. “Maddi, your such a hoe,” “Damn girl, dat bod!!”

35 more comments, no thanks! Its obvious it isn’t me and whoever made this up better watch it, i’m not letting this one slide. Layed in the back next to the pool to get away from all this mess, “Maddi Florence, what is going on with this picture on bookoffaces?” Hannah shouted at me after unplugging my head phones. I giggled a little about it then looked up at her, “I was wondering the same thing!” “wanna come get ice cream with me and Nick Smith?” “maybe in a little, Roger is supposed to be taking me somewhere and i don’t know where i'm gonna end up.” “okay, whatever.” The cold air hit my sweaty tan skin when i walked into the conditioned air. Roger texted me, “be there in 20.” I jumped in the shower, letting the drops hit my shoulders I began to think about how stupid that picture is and how stupid the person posting the picture looks. It’s not going to bother me at all, I won’t let it. “Oh, hey Roger” walking into my room, seeing him on my bed. Roger rushing me down the stairs through the door and into the passenger seat in his car. Pulled over on this dirt road, he grabbed my hand and looked me in the eyes and said “ Maddi, we have been together for the longest time, I know i'm happy with you and i know for a fact i wanna spend the rest of my life with you, I love you.” Was this a joke, I know he really likes me and all but i'm still a baby, I'ma little. There was no response back from me and Roger looked upset, he knew what it was going to say back to him. Driving with his eyes off the road for a second and “BOOM.”

Opening my eyes and i'm suddenly in this white room with a curtain around my bed, this blue dress has a hole in the back, where am i? Rubbed my eyes and held my head in my hand then realized there was a burning sensation in it. Pushed the covers off my lap and tried jumping off the hospital bed, collapsed to the floor right in front of hannah's eyes, she grabbed my arm and lifted me back on the bed without any questions. “Thanks, what am i doing here” i asked in a confused voice? “Roger, the wheel turned and you hit a tree, you got a few stitches on your forehead and you bruised your right rib cage.” I don’t remember hitting the tree, all i could think about was the I love you sentence that came out of his mouth, must of happened before we swerved. “Where’s Roger?””In the room next door, he isn't doing so good, sit still and I’ll get a wheelchair and bring you to him.” Is this my fault, am I the one who did this? I whisper to Hannah as shes wheeling me into the hall “I can’t go in there, what if he’s mad at me? This is all my fault.” Tears running down my cheek as he looks into my eyes, I took his hand gently and pressed it up against my lips and kissed them. “Roger i'm so sorry, this is my fault, I should've went with hannah this would of never happened to you!” He pulled his hand away and rubbed across my face and said “Maddi, this isn't your fault it was mine, I put you in this mess.” I knew his eyes were slowly shutting as time progressed, i kissed his palm and said “ I love you Roger.” That was it, he was gone.

Friends before Uggs

Mr. BG’s class

Ariana Williams

                                                                                Value Essay

                It would be amazing if everything was free, but it doesn’t really work that way.  These days everything is so expensive and people are greedy.  The price on gas has gone up, the price on milk and other foods are more then what it used to be like when I was a baby.  Some things are priceless in life, you may not know because there isn’t a price tag, but it’s there.  Most people try to value money as much as possible, but as a teenager it’s all about clothes and shoes. 

                Before seventh grade it was all about playing sports with the boys, wearing t-shirts, and not caring about what my hair looked like.  I spent most of my summers outside in the dirt with sneakers on my feet and a glove on my hand.  That’s changed so much!  I love my clothes, and sports are a huge priority too, but I make sure I look good off the court and off the fields.  I look back at old pictures of me and think, “Mom why did you let me go out in public looking like that?” 

                Most memories are priceless and mean everything to me.  A lot of my valuable items are a bit pricey, for example my Uggs.  It was Christmas morning and I was in 6^th grade and that was my top gift on my list.  I remember my brother walking into my room then barging into my little sister’s room.  We sprinted down the stairs and waited patiently for Mom and Dad to come down the stairs.  Opening the gifts were the best part, I just love new clothes.  We were down to the last couple of presents and I was getting worried that the Ugg Boots weren’t going to be there.  Finally, my mom hands me over a good sized box with a smile on her face; I destroyed the wrapping paper in less than a few seconds and in my hand was a box, it was glowing.  I popped open the top of the box and I had a big grin on my face.  The fuzzy, beautiful, brown fitted boots were sitting in my little hands, so I slipped them on and strutted in my living room.  Walking around my house was as if I was dancing on a cloud, a fluffy cloud.  Ever since that Christmas, Uggs in the winter are the best present.  We finally had to throw away that first pair, since they were so worn out. 

Some valuable items aren’t even items, they are memories.  What I value most are my memories and blonde moments with a few of my very close friends.  Reilly and Hannah spent a Saturday night at my house since we were all planning on going to a basketball game in the morning.      I was working on my homework when Reilly walked in.  I tried finishing it, but I couldn’t even look at it anymore with Rei singing to me.    It’s hard to concentrate on homework with one of your friends in the same room as you belting out an Alicia Keyes toon!   A couple minutes later, Hannah walked in already in a bubbly mood, and I sat thinking to myself, oh man, it’s going to be a funny night!  The three of us ran upstairs and turned the T.V. on and played Just Dance 4.  We played the songs that involved shaking your booty for Reilly and we played the easy ones for Hannah, but no matter what, I was going to beat them.  After three and a half hours of Just Dance, Reilly decided to teach me how to Wobble.  She showed me once then after that I got the whole dance down with no problem.  Hannah and I were learning how to “Twerk”, another type of dance, but it didn’t go too well.  All of that Wobbling and Twerking made us hungry, so we went down and ate.  Random thoughts were coming into our heads as we sat together eating French Toast Sticks.  For example, Cindy-Lou Who.  In the summer, I saw a girl with a water bottle in her ponytail and her hair was straight up like Cindy-Lou’s.  So I took a party hat and put in on top of my head, bent down and tied my hair up.  Reilly couldn’t believe that it stayed and how ridiculous I looked, but I might have started a new trend.  By the time we were finished eating, all of us looked like we could be on the Grinch!  Cameras were out, flashes were bright and the music was up.  That was how we spent our Saturday night, full of laughs, smiles and loud music.

My priced item is amazing and useful, but my priceless one is what makes me who I am.  I’m a bit shy when you first are introduced to me, but most of the time I’m a happy, loud person and fun to be with.  I express myself with no difficulties with my friends while I’m wearing my furry, brown Australian Uggs.