"Legal Alien/Extranjera Legal"

I have felt trapped between both worlds before. I use to have to act a lot different by my parents then I would act normally, my parents and my family expected so much from me and wanted me to be something I completely wasn't. They expected a 4.0 and for me to be classy, no fights no boyfriends. I mean I could take the being classy part, but I wanted to date, and every girl gets into fights in high school. They wanted that perfect daughter, or family member that they could brag about. I never really exceeded their expectations, I guess that's why things are they way that they are now. I learned now that I should just be myself. Pretending to be someone your not is hard work, and if someone can't accept you for how you are, then maybe you're just better without them.

"Ballad of Birmingham"

I remember when my little sister Mikayla was born, just like it was yesterday. February 24th,2004. I was at school and the principle called me to the office on the intercom. Everyone in the classroom teased " Ooooo you're in trouble!" I was so scared but I didn't show it. I walked to the principles office thinking over everything that I've done recently, and I couldn't think of anything that would actually land me in the principles office. I was a nervous wreck and as soon as I walked in the office I broke down, my eyes were so watery I barley could see. I felt someone hug me and say "whats wrong?" still sobbing I replied "I'm in trouble!" I looked up and realized it was my dad holding me. He got on one knee and said "who said that?" I said "I got sent up here". My dad then realized that I thought I was there because I was in trouble. He told me that I had a baby sister now named Mikayla, I was so happy because I always wanted to be a big sister. I went to the hospital with my daddy, because my little sister couldn't leave just yet. I will never forget that day.

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

When I look into the orange groves, I see hundreds and hundreds of trees, all identical. With about 20 oranges on each tree. I hear the wind blowing the leaves on the trees. I smell the fresh air. I feel nothing, I just space off and stare at the orange groves. I wish I could eat them all, they are juicy and delicious. Living by these trees make me feel like I will never go hungry again :)

"Boy at the Window" Before You Read: Silly Childhood Fear

When I was little I was terrified of sleeping alone and the dark. I use to fall asleep with my t.v on and the door open. I use to get horrible nightmares that had my crying and running to my Mommy's room. I loved having my own room in the day time. I remember moving into my new house and dreaded these words from my mom " Honey your getting your own room!" she said it with so much excitement, I was so scared that I ran into my moms room and cried so hard that I just feel asleep. It took me such a long time to get over that fear. Only recently I got over that fact, and learned to sleep with my door closed and the light off, but that's only because I have a roommate :)

“A Blessing” Break into Blossom Paragraph

Since I was little all I wanted was to fit in. I wanted to get along with everyone. I wanted to be the most popular and the best looking. The girl that everyone wanted and adored. I expected so much in myself and many times failed to reach my expectations. It started off when I was in elementary school I had my two best friends, Janet and Ada. I remember the times that we shared like it was yesterday. The time that stuck out the most was when we joined the talent show. I remember how hard we practiced. We performed to genie in a bottle by Britteny spears. I told all of my friends my dad was going to rent a limo and wed get dropped off with Britteny spears. We did so great everyone forgot about the lie I told. I also remember how in middle school i would always try and hang out with the cool crowd even though I didn't really fit in because I didn't dress how they did or have long hair and piercings like they did. I would always try to go home and change how I looked so that I could just fit in. I later on moved to a different high school and I met my best friend Tahnee. We clicked the first day I met her. She taught me a how to accept myself. By 7th grade I've grown tremendously, I was very mature, and learned to gain respect for myself. I tried my hardest to treat people how I wanted to so that I wouldn't fight with everyone. I took advanced classes even though I didn't really know how to do it, I just wanted to look smart. My eighth grade year I really step it up and got a 3.0 :) . In high school I had a lot of drama, because again a different crowd and I wanted to fit in, by the end of my freshman year I learned how to deal with people better. I've gone through so many stages in my life that helped mold me into the person that I am today. I want to be remembered as who I was and who I am now, a totally different person.

Woman Work

Every day I have things I am responsible for doing myself. Whether I would like to do them or not these are necessities of my every day life. All of these things include:

• Brushing my teeth
• Taking a shower
• Using the bathroom
• Waking up on time
• Doing my homework
• Keeping my room clean
• Keeping up with my side of the bathroom
• Leaving to school on time
• Stay at the dinner table for 10 minutes
• Check in and out of places
• Eating breakfast
• Going to school
• Get dressed
• Have good hygiene
• Put my stuff away
• Community meeting
• Teen topic
• Get the food on assign days
• Wear something appropriate to school
• Brush my hair
• Wash clothes
• Wash hands
• Shave legs
• Wear sunscreen

If I don't complete these things daily I can get home consequences, fail classes, and have a bad appearance.

American History

 One time I went to a store with about 4-5 of my friends. We all just wanted to window shop and look around. We came across a little store called shoe repair , it had a lot of cute stuff in the windows so we went in. As soon as we came in both the husband and the wife came from the back of the store screaming "ONE AT A TIME PLEASE, ONE AT A TIME!" We were confused and just backed up. So I went in first and asked " Why only one at a time?" She said because she didn't want more than one black person in her store because they couldn't keep track of them. I then again asked why and she said because black people are theives. I then just walked out. I was very upset because every race steals. Even though some races steal more then others its wrong to just classify african americans as thieves.

A Blessing

One time when I was at a party , I was arguing with a close friend. We kept calling back and fourth yelling at each other. My friend has epilepsy , but it wasn't that bad. He use to take medication to make it better. When the party was almost about to end I gave my friend another call, again we were yelling and then I heard silence. Shortly after I heard a banging noise and someone trying to speak. I didn't know yet what was happening, so I just continued to yell and scream. After a while I realized that my friend was having a seizure. I called his friends that lived down the street and continually called the house phone. Finally I got a hold of his mom and told her what happened. She was completely unaware of what happened and ran to see if he was OK. She had to rest his head up because if you have a seizure you can choke on your own blood,or spit. I had a panic attack and broke down. Eventually I got a ride to his house and stayed to make sure he was OK. I learned to never take anyone for granted because you never know when they could be gone.