It Will Say

1 Forrest once said:

2 “Life is like a box of chocolates,

3 You never know what you're gunna get.”

4 But you do know what you're going to get

5 If you take the time to glimpse at the heart-shaped box and

6 Read the fine print.

7 The answers are all there.

8 It will say if a piece is bitter.

9 It will say if a piece is sweet.

10 It will say if a piece is crunchy.

11 It will say it all there.

12 So take a moment to read before you make a decision.

13 And you will discover that

14 All of Life's secrets are printed in view.

15 Life doesn't have to be big mystery.

16 It is simple.

17 Simple as a row of perfectly assorted chocolates.

Lines 1-18 is an analogy. An analogy is an extended metaphor which describes the whole meaning of my poem. I am comparing two unlike things: a box chocolates and life. The box of chocolates represents various life events and that you can't predict what will happen. I argue if you are patient and read what is right in front of you then life won't be a surprise.

Lines 1-3 is an allusion. The quote chose was said by Forrest Gump in the movie Forrest Gump. This movie is an all time classic and is based off an award winning book. I refereed to Forrest because I felt it made a strong statement in my poem. His quote is so simple yet has a great meaning which is challenged in my poem.

Line 10 is an onomatopoeia. I use the adjective “crunchy” to describe chocolate. I feel this brings the example in my poem to life because it adds one of the senses.

Line 2 is a simile. “Life is like a box of chocolates” compares life and chocolates using “like”. This simile is the main theme to my poem and has a strong message based of the comparison.

Line 8-11 is an anaphora. “It will say” is repeated at the beginning of each line (clause). This adds rhythm to my poem and emphases the different kinds of chocolate in a box.

Line 17 is imagery. “A row of perfectly assorted chocolates” creates a mental picture of a typical box of fancy chocolates. I end my poem with this because it ties into the beginning quote and wraps up the idea of life being fairly simple.

Lines 1-18 is symbolism. My whole poem uses symbolism because the events of life are like different chocolates in a box. Line 8-11 symbolize different life events. For example, life events can be sweet (happy) or bitter (upsetting).

Bitter Sweet

This is the move from hell. Straight from hell. We are selling our house that we have lived in for 12 years. 12 years of ware and tare on a very large house. This means many Sundays spent cleaning, boxing up belongings, and many trips to the dump and storage unit. I have a family of five which means crap on crap on crap. We have so much crap. We could practically open a library with the number of children books we own. We could also give a stuff animal to every child on the face of the earth and still have some left over.

The process of selling a house is long and stressful. We had to get new carpet, repaint, and redo our hard-wood floors. And there is the lingering thought of “What if the house doesn't sell”. Honestly, that would be the worst. We have many things to our advantage when selling my current house. The neighborhood is the best around and the schools are great. Its a nice size and built well. Also we are pricing to sell which means the price isn't ridiculously high.

Leaving the house you grow up in one of the hardest things to do. The memories and laughter that filled the house is hard to part with. In my family's case, moving is for the better. Both of my older siblings are moved out and I'm going to boarding school next year. There is no need for my parents to have the space we have now. My parents also plan on moving back to the West Coast in a couple years so getting this house sold will make that move easier.

Preparing the house for the market has been an emotional roller coaster. We are hopefully nearing the end soon. The house officially goes up for sale tomorrow and two families are already interested. Our fingers are crossed that it sells quickly!

To the new family: Enjoy this house and all it offers. Enjoy the wonderful neighborhood and quite street. Enjoy the openness and green backyard. Laugh a lot and make amazing memories. There are going the be hard times but this house will always be the best place to call home. Bring in love and good karma, just as my family did. Raise a family. Let the kids play in the woods down the road, even if they might get ticks. Spend summer nights outside and walk the surrounding trails. You will love this house. I promise. (410)

Love in the Form of TV

Netflix might be the best invention ever. Not joking. Its like a gift from the heavens. Well maybe I'm being a little over dramatic but let's be honest here, everyone loves Netflix. Normally we would have drive all the way to a movie store, walk around aimlessly while trying to find that one movie. After adventuring through the screaming children and mushy couples, you finally find the movie you wanted. But wait... PSYCH its ready been checked out! Then all you want to do its hit down the racks of lame movies with bad acting. After gaining composer, you pick another movie and wait in line for 10 minutes will the person in front of you argues with the clerk about fees for their movie that they apparently didn't return on time. We have all have had these experiences. That is why Netflix is amazing.

Netflix is an online movie and tv show provider. Its like having a movie store in your house. Its around $10 a month for unlimited access to all of their instant movies and shows. Netflix's movie choices aren't that great but they have great shows. My favorite show on Netflix is Grey's Anatomy and the best part is they have all 8 seasons. They have all of the updated seasons for their tv shows.

Netflix has choices for everyone. Romance, action, comedy and family are just a few. You will always find something to watch. They also have great documentaries. Don't lie to yourself, you love a good documentary. We are all nerds on the inside!

Another great thing about using Netflix is you don't have to remember to return a movie. There are no fines or annoying phone calls from people who hate their job. You can stop or start anytime you want on Netflix.

So if you don't already have it, get it. It is worth the money, I promise. You can watch it on the computer or connect it to your tv through a gaming system. The only thing you need is wifi. If think your life is complete now, its not. Get Netflix and it will be. Just be careful, it does get addicting. But warning you now you will spend hours and hours watching it. If you are watching a tv show you can't just watch one episode.

Now go online and subscribe. You won't be disappointed! You can thank me later. 

AP: Advanced Procrastination

AP classes are pushed on us like crazy. All we hear is, “Take AP” “It will help you in college” “You can get college credit!” Ah yeah if you get a 5 on the exam which is hard as hell. So is it really worth it to take AP? In my opinion it is because AP classes teach great study habits, increase reading skills, and challenge the average student. Most colleges won't accept AP credit unless it is a very high score, and some won't accept any at all. So there is much more to taking these challenging classes than college credit.

AP classes are great to take because they truly force students to create strong study skills. The textbooks are longer, and harder, thus making the test more difficult. AP students have to study effectively and often to succeed in the classes. Also the material cannot be forgotten because most students take the AP Exam in May. So these classes are cumulative, which adds extra studying time. AP students have to know when the need to really sit down and learn the material. These important study skills are required to do well in college. AP classes help build a strong foundation for success.

Another pro of taking AP classes is that they increase reading skills. AP textbooks are college level and are go into much great detail than regular level textbooks. AP classes also require more reading weekly because all of the material has to be covered by April, in time for the exam. These reading skills will help not only in Aps but also outside of school and on standardized tests. A strong reader will succeed in any class, no matter the subject.

Lastly, AP classes expect more out of the students than regular level. AP students are considered the higher level. Aps raise the academic bar for student expectations. Teachers, and principals, look at AP classes as college classes and then they expect college level work out of their students.

Overall, AP classes should be taken by all students. They teach study habits, increase reading skills, and challenge students. Don't take Aps for college credit because you mostly likely won't get that much. Take AP classes to become a better, and more well-rounded, student.  (405)

The Joys of Being a Junior

I think we can all agree that junior year is not that exciting. It actually sucks most of the time. It seems that junior year is the year to take the hardest classes and there is the most pressure to have good grades because it's the year colleges look at the most. It is also the time to start the amazing college search process! Sarcasm.

In some ways junior year rocks. We aren't at the bottom of the food chain anymore and we are one year closer to being a senior. This thought last for about three minutes until the reality of multiple AP classes and homework brings you back down to earth. Homework on homework on homework. Projects on projects. Tests on tests on tests.

One thing that junior year hasn't failed on is hell weeks. Hell week is that one week about once a month that there is a test in every single class. It's like the teachers come together and all decide to have tests at the same time. It's usually spread out over a couple days and those days are the worst of the year. At one point I had five test in ONE day. It's like finals all over again!

Another aspect of junior year is the fact that we can't go to prom. I'm just being bitter because I don't get to go this year but really every other school in the world has a junior-senior prom, except Cedar Rapids. In some ways a senior prom makes it more special but at the same time it sucks for the underclassmen. Prom is so fun! It makes homecoming seem very lame.

The end of junior year comes with the sense of almost being a senior. Almost. We still have a month and a half left. Well for the other 346 kennedy high school students. I get to experience the joy of redoing junior year. So when this year ends and everyone else is celebrating finally being a senior, I will be reminiscing the fact that I still have two years left of high school. But while all you seniors are stressing out about college applications, I will be enjoying not having to worry about where the hell my life is going.

So heres to junior year and all it's ups and down. We are almost to the end. Thank you for teaching us how to handle hell weeks and stressing over grades. For most its a goodbye but for me it's a “see ya next year!” (422)

An Athlete

Sports have been around since humans started to socialize, we are competitive. They are a large part of who we are. Whether you are an olympian or a you have never picked up a soccer ball, sports are still interesting. Everyone gathers around the TV for the Super Bowl, the Olympics, and other major sporting events. Sports are apart of us. Perhaps, what is more special than the bond that humans have with athletics is being the athlete playing the game. That bond that athletes have with their sport is what makes athletes who they are. Sports teach us lessons that we can't learn anywhere else. It's hard to narrow down the most important lessons taught by playing a sport because they are endless. Hard work, determination, respect, maturity, and perseverance, just to name a few.

Being an athlete myself, I know first hand the dedication it takes to a student-athlete. Its definitely not easy! It actually really sucks sometimes. We have all heard the research that playing sports can increase kids GPAs. The reason behind this is that athletes don't have time to lay around during the week, or on the weekend, because we are busy practicing and playing games. So when we do have time to do homework, it is limited. Its now or never. Either you work hard to finish assignments now, or get a zero. Like right now, I am writing this post in between my hockey games because I know I won't have time to do it tomorrow. If I was just at home now I wouldn't have the motivation to do it.

Sports are a big part of growing up and maturing. They teach social skills and also how to speak your mind. Playing hockey definitely teaches how to stand up for yourself but also how to let things go. There is a lot of shit-talking in sports. Athletes get called names by other players, yelled at by coaches, and criticized by parents but we learn just to let it go. I have learned over the years to channel my anger into something productive. Anger can cause many bad things to happen that you will later regret so it's important to know when to just chillax.

At the end of that day, I am glad to be a student-athlete. I so thankful to have something to be passionate about. Juggling school and sports have allowed me to grow as a person and I know many athletes would agree with me.  (424)

The Off Season

As the summer approaches, and the end of the school year, the off season still lingers. Hockey is a year long sport. It really never ends. The season starts in August and ends at the end of March, no other sport has a season this long. Once you fall in love with hockey it's a part of who you are, your identity. You eat, sleep, and dream hockey.

Since its the off season, I'm having major hockey withdraws. The season is so long that once it's over all I can think is, “What the hell am I suppose to do now?” I'm just not used to having this much free time.

Usually hockey players are multi-sport athletes because if you can master hockey than you can master almost any other sport. So in someways we never really have an off season. For me I spend my off season playing tennis which I honestly don't enjoy that much. It's fun for a solid week then after that I just want to skate and shoot some pucks, not a tennis ball. It is nice to be outside and work on my tank-top tan. Other than that, hitting a ball back and fourth for an hour straight doesn't even come close to playing a hockey game.

The off season is also very important for hockey players, and all athletes. It's a time to step away from the ice, courts, or field and just relax. Playing other sports is the best way to refresh for the up coming season. Since the hockey season is so long, by the end you get pretty burnt out. But once the new season starts you feel fresh and ready to play.

The hardest part of the off season is trying to stay in shape. You just have to accept the fact that you won't be in game shape until the season starts again. This is hard for all athletes because we want to be at our best all the time. Like many other hockey players, I spend my off season at the gym with little time on the ice. A great man once said, “Champions are made in the off season”. The off season is the time to put on muscle weight and to work on agility.

Soon the hockey season will come again and I will be rested and excited to play again. Until then I will hit a fury ball back and fourth while dreaming of a puck and some ice.  (417)