The Lost Woods

Authors Note: This is a creative piece I made to focus a lot on imagery, tone, and figurative language. It is greatly inspired by The Legend of Zelda video game series.

The green tree leaves were wet and damp. Clear water slowly tripped down the rough, brown bark of the giant, god like trees that scrapped the stormy sky. The rain had stopped but it left such a thick misty mass through the woods that you wouldn't even be able to see your own hand in front of your face.  The forest was endless. With every turn, everything looked exactly the same. This was diffidently no help for the young adventurer searching through the forest for his friend with his small fairy companion beside him over his shoulder.

His friend said she would be at the end of the woods waiting for him. What had his friend brought him there for?  Didn't she remember he was busy on his quest to help the royal family with their troubles? Didn't they just say goodbye a few days ago? The young adventurer had no time to waste and needed to be at the castle as soon as possible. He didn't even have anything other than his sword and shield for the quest and needed to find some magical item to help him aid the royal family. This was such a distraction. Though he admitted to himself he did indeed feel lonely from these long days of travel and missed her company, so he pressed on.

The warm steamy mist hissed at him as he walked through it, as if it didn't want to be touched.  There was just trees, trees, fog and more trees. There was a strange ominous feeling of hopelessness throughout the forest and he didn't like it at all. With what felt like hours of walking, the young adventurer finally spotted someone - or something faintly in the fog. It looked like a child -no a scarecrow but it wasn't tall or hanging on a stick. It was as small as a child and sat on a tree stump with its eyes buried in it's straw hands, panting. Crying. It was alive.

The sight of another living being, or just of something other than trees and fog made the young adventurer's heart skip a beat. Slowly and cautiously he walked towards the creature, ready to draw his sword if necessary. Nervously he asked the creature if it knew where the end of the woods was. The creature just sheepishly stared at him with no response with tears in its eyes.  The young adventurer's fairy explained to him what the creature was; a skull kid. When children get lost in these woods and never find a way out, this is what happens to them.

Suddenly the young adventurer felt  a strong pity for the poor skull kid, but then soon panicked and ran away from it as quickly as possible.  How long would it be until he turned into a skull kid himself if he didn't hurry up and find a way out? The dim light slipping through the branches of trees from the sky was slowly fading into darkness.  What was he going to do, everything still looked the same and it would get even worse at night. Maybe it was all inside his head but he thought he felt his hands changing, feeling hard and rough like tree bark. He was about to scream in fear and frustration but then suddenly noticed a faint sound in the distance. He paused, remaining completely silent, trying to block out the sounds of the forest night to hear what it was. It was a song. A beautiful, mesmerizing  song was coming from somewhere.

The young adventurer didn't know exactly why, but he had to follow it. He just had to. Almost as if in a trance, the young adventurer slowly followed the song through the dark misty woods, the song growing louder with every step. Before he knew it, he was standing at the very end of the woods with a maze of the grand trees standing behind him proudly. The song was now so loud he could practically hear it clearly booming through his ears. The young adventurer was so exhausted and sleepy (or just so deeply mesmerized), his eyes nearly closed. It took him a few moments to noticed where the beautiful music was coming from.  

There, sitting on an old dead log cross legged was his friend he had been searching hours for. The young adventurers eyes quickly shot open as he ran toward her, but then immediately  stopped in his tracks in awe. The music stopped and there in her hands was a small ocarina. She had been playing the music the whole time. His friend looked up and smiled. She then took the ocarina to the young adventurer and placed it in his hands. She explained that the ocarina was magical and she made it all by herself here at the end of the woods. Not only can it produce a loud, beautiful sound, it can also perform spells depending on the song that is played. She then taught the young adventurer how to play the song she had been playing. The song in particular was a communication spell.  If for whatever reason the young adventurer ever needed to talk to his friend, he could just play that song and instantly be able to no matter where he was.

The young adventurer's friend told him she thought the ocarina could come in handy for his quest, so she's letting him keep it. She originally was going to give him it before he left but she didn't finish it in time. That's why she brought him here. It was just the kind of item he needed for the quest! With a rush of joy, the young adventurer jumped in excitement feeling immensely grateful for his new gift. He thanked his friend and promised he would keep good care of it.

 The young adventurer stayed up all night with his friend, learning how to play new songs, playing games and having fun. When the orange sun finally began to rise at dawn, the young adventurer remembered that he still had a quest to do. After thanking his friend one last time, he played a teleportation spell and disappeared.

Potter vs Jackson (Spring DWA)

I've been reading Harry Potter for a quite a while now as you can probably tell if you've read a lot of my pieces. As of a few months ago, I finally finished reading every single book in the series, front to back. Not too soon after I finished my friend nearly forced me to start reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series, claiming it was supposedly as good or better than Harry Potter. Upon finishing the first book and currently reading through the 2nd I've noticed quite a lot of similarities between the two series.

For one thing, both books are about a normal boy discovering an alternate fantasy world to reality. For Harry Potter it's the Wizarding World and for Percy Jackson it's the Olympian World. In both series, these alternate fantasies are hidden and kept secret from the normal people the world.  Another blatant similarity would be Hogwarts, Harry's school, and Camp Half Blood, Percy's Summer camp. Both books center around going to these places that act as a "true home" for Harry and Percy. They feel most comfortable when they are their and train for their future. Not only that, but even the character set up is pretty similar! Harry, Ron, and Hermione; Percy, Grover, and Annabeth. Percy being the main character. Grover being Percy's good friend is like how Ron is to Harry. Annabeth being the smart female of the group just like Hermione. Gabe, Percy's mean step father, is basically the equivalent of the Dursleys, Harry's family, to Percy. They both are treated terribly by them. I could really go on forever with the similarities, honestly.

However even though there are tons and tons of similarities, obviously they can't be exactly the same. The over all writing styles of the two series are completely different from each other. Harry Potter is written in the 3rd person in a very formal way, not using any slang and using a big vocabulary. Percy Jackson is in first person in Percy's perspective and is written a lot more casually because of it. This probably also has to do with the setting in which the two books take place and where they are written. While Harry Potter takes place in and is written in United Kingdom, Percy Jackson takes place in and is written in America. These two different cultures make a big difference when it comes to the writing. And of course, probably one of the more obvious differences, is the theme. As stated before Harry Potter has to do with the Wizarding World and magic while Percy Jackson has to do with Greek Mythology and Gods. While Percy Jackson has to do with young warriors learning how to fight monsters, Harry Potter is about young wizards and witches learning magic. They're two completely different themes.

That being said, I still think both books are very, very similar. I recall upon reading the first Percy Jackson something about Percy seeing someone reading a book with a wizard on the cover. Could this be a settle nod to Harry Potter? Could the Percy Jackson series indeed be inspired by the Harry Potter series, if not only partly? Perhaps that's why they are so similar to each other? Either way, at the end of the day I still prefer Potter over Jackson regardless.

The Value of Gym Classes

Authors note: This is an essay we had to right for Fitness. This is my take on it.

We’ve had a variant of Fitness classes in this school district since all way back in Kindergarten. Back then we just called in gym. When we got into Horizon, it was called PE. Now that we’re here in Asa, it’s just called Fitness and Health. In every variant of the class, it has always provided a lot of value towards me.

Gym class has always provided me a good amount of exercise. I don’t play many sports anymore and I need to get some somehow. Gym has been my primary source of exercise for a while now. I feel like it has helped me improve my health and I feel a lot more comfortable running and moving around now, near the end of middle school, than when I started it.

Not only has it provided me exercise, its also given me some fun with friends. Playing a game or just passing a ball back and forth at the start of class, we get a lot of time to talk and just have fun. It also helps gain new friends as well.

Gym and physical activity is very valuable to me. I think gym is a very important class class to help keep us fit and healthy and also give us some social interaction. It’s an essential break we need from just sitting in a classroom working all day.

The Circuit Inference Analysis

Author's Note: This is a Inference Analysis on the short story "The Circuit" by Francisco Jiménez. 

The Circuit is a very interesting short story. The story is about a poor hispanic family that works in farming fields. Whenever they start to run low on money or a certain picking season ends, whether it be strawberry or grape picking season or whatever, they need to migrate to a new place to keep getting money. While I didn’t exactly understand at first, The Circuit definitely has a few things you can take from it.

The main character has to move and leave his home after every harvesting season. Moving is a very hard thing to do sometimes. After you finally get get used to the home, you don’t want to leave it. You become too used to it. You’ll miss it. I think the writer was trying to describe and teach how hard it is too move to a completely new place. He couldn’t sleep the night before the move. He hated the idea so much.

His family lived a harsh life, especially when they moved to their new home. All they did was work, work and work more. They didn’t even get a proper home, they got a dirty garage to sleep in. Eventually when November came he was able to finally go to school after having to hide out of site from the cops for not going. He was alone, scared and nervous. He met a teacher who became his friend who taught him how to play a trumpet. He was finally happy again with his new home.  But then the season was over and they had to move again. That’s a pretty harsh life and I think the writer was trying to express how hard some people have got it.

In conclusion, The Circuit was a pretty good short story. While there isn’t exactly any direct moral or lesson to be learned if you ask me, there still something to be learned. Not everyone’s got it so easy.

Forced Labor

Authors Note: This is a short creative piece I did off an inspiration I got when learning about sweatshops in Social Studies. This isn't necessarily a sweat shop as much as it is a prison where people work, but you get the point. 

We wake up at 5 o’clock sharp every morning. No later. The orange sun barely rising in the dark, black sky at dawn; we dress quickly before we get warned a second time.  We pace our way in an orderly fashion through the bland, dimly lit corridors with guards shoving the points of their guns in our backs.  They escort us to our dirty work stations -- all our supplies sitting there waiting for us.  We pick up our sewing materials and begin the boring, tedious process over and over and over again.  There are no breaks. No talking. No escape. No hope. Just work. All day, every day. Forever. If you are working too slowly or fall asleep, you’re beaten nearly to death. If you attempt at saying as much as one word, the watching guards are more than happy to pull the trigger pointed at your head. 

Homophobia Rant (Revised)

Authors Note: I revised this a piece a little bit, fixing a few things I felt could be improved.

Homosexuality has become more and more relevant in America as time has gone by. I personally am not a homosexual nor have I ever knowingly met a homosexual in person, however I have met a few over the internet. I can assure you that they are completely normal people that act just like everyone else and I completely support their rights. Can someone please explain to me a good reason why there so much hate and discrimination towards them? Homosexuals deserve every single right you and I have, and the hate and negativity towards them needs to stop.

Discrimination has been relevant in America’s history ever since we started this nation; whether it be racism or sexism. Ever since then, women and race rights have since been resolved in some way. However, gays seem to still not have completely equal rights or respect in most places. This hate towards gays is the same kind of discrimination! Who cares what sex, skin color, religion, or sexuality people have? People are people and should be treated equally no matter what. What right does anyone have to say two people who love each other shouldn’t be able to marry, let alone make it illegal, just because they happen to be the same gender?

I understand it’s a religion thing, but isn’t this country all about freedom and freedom of religion? Our laws shouldn’t be centered around a certain religion if we are free to believe whatever we want. Why is it anyone else’s business in the first place? If someone personally believes a homosexual is going to burn in hell for being the way they are then power to them, but why do they feel the need to shove their believes in peoples’ faces? If it’s not any of your business, if it’s not even affecting you, if they mean no harm at all to you why should you care so much? Leave them alone and let them live their life without being harassed for once. Everyone has different beliefs; learn to respect that.  

                                                                                                                

 People typically claim that homosexuality is a unnatural and is a choice. If that is the case, how come some animals, who cannot make choices the same way humans can, have been found to be homosexual? Penguins, Amazon dolphins, lions, elephants, giraffes, sheep, lizards, dragon flies and many others have all been found to be homosexual before. Do these animals necessarily decide they to be gay? No, some are just born with a different attraction than others. It’s the same for humans. It is most certainly not a choice. It is more of a preference, you can’t just change it, it’s just who you are. For instance, let’s say we lived in world where almost everyone loves straw berries. In that world, let’s say instead of liking strawberries, I preferred blueberries. You wouldn’t be able to force me to like strawberries or make me not like blue berries. It’s just who I am and what I prefer. If I don’t like strawberries, I don’t like strawberries. It’s that simple. It’s a preference.

Even if it was unnatural and was a choice what difference would that make? If it’s not hurting anyone or affecting anyone, why does it matter? Like I said before, this is a free country isn’t it? If it is a choice, they should have the right to make that choice. We do unnatural things every day anyway. Is using technology natural? Are drugs like caffeine natural? No. So then so what? What does something necessarily unnatural have to do with anything? It’s ridiculous.

Gays are also often bullied if they ever come out of the closet or show signs of being gay; especially in school years. This can often lead to depression and even suicide.  These people never decided to be the way they are or who they would be attracted to and they are being punished for it; they are being told these feelings are wrong and they can’t feel that way. What positives come out of forcing people to repress their sexuality? What positives come out of keeping them from marrying? How does it fix anything? It just makes things worse so what’s the point?

I’m really tired of all this negativity and discrimination towards homosexuals. They seriously don’t deserve any of it and it really needs to stop. I just hope for a future where stating your sexuality in public will be as normal as it seems to be on the internet. Where having a different sexuality will be completely normal and that no one will be treated unfairly for it. 

Homophobia Rant

Author's Note: This is a rant essay about homophobia. I meant to revise and add more stuff to it to work more towards my goals, but I ran out of time. I mainly meant to work on voice. 

Homosexuality has become more and more relevant in America as time has gone by. I personally am not a homosexual nor have I ever knowingly met a homosexual in person, however I have met a few over the internet. I can assure you that they are completely normal people that act just like everyone else and I completely support their rights. Can someone please explain to me a good reason why there so much hate and discrimination towards them? Homosexuals deserve every single right you and I have, and the hate and negativity towards them needs to stop.

Discrimination has been relevant in America’s history ever since we started this nation; whether it be racism or sexism. Ever since then, women and race rights have since been resolved in some way. However, gays seem to still not have completely equal rights or respect in most places. This hate towards gays is the same kind of discrimination! Who cares what sex, skin color, religion, or sexuality people have? People are people and should be treated equally no matter what. What right does anyone have to say two people who love each other shouldn’t be able to marry, let alone make it illegal, just because they happen to be the same gender?

I understand it’s a religion thing, but isn’t this country all about freedom and freedom of religion? Our laws shouldn’t be centered around a certain religion if we are free to believe whatever we want. Why is it anyone else’s business in the first place? If someone personally believes a homosexual is going to burn in hell for being the way they are then power to them, but why do they feel the need to shove their believes in peoples’ faces? If it’s not any of your business, if it’s not even affecting you, if they mean no harm at all to you why should you care so much? Leave them alone and let them live their life without being harassed for once. Everyone has different beliefs; learn to respect that.  

                                                                                                                

 People typically claim that homosexuality is a unnatural and is a choice. If that is the case, how come some animals, who cannot make choices the same way humans can, have been found to be homosexual? Penguins, Amazon dolphins, lions, elephants, giraffes, sheep, lizards, dragon flies and many others have all been found to be homosexual before. Do these animals necessarily decide they to be gay? No, some are just born with a different attraction than others. It’s the same for humans. It is most certainly not a choice. It is more of a preference; you can’t just change it, it’s just who you are. For instance, let’s say we lived in world where almost everyone loves straw berries. In that world, let’s say instead of liking strawberries, I preferred blueberries. You wouldn’t be able to force me to like strawberries or make me not like blue berries. It’s just who I am and what I prefer. If I don’t like strawberries, I don’t like strawberries. It’s that simple. It’s a preference.

Even if it was unnatural and was a choice what difference would that make? If it’s not hurting anyone or affecting anyone, why does it matter? Like I said before, this is a free country isn’t it? If it is a choice, they should have the right to make that choice. We do unnatural things every day anyway. Is using technology natural? Are drugs like caffeine natural? No. So then so what? What does something necessarily unnatural have to do with anything? It’s ridiculous.

Gays are also often bullied if they ever come out of the closet or show signs of being gay; especially in school years. This can often lead to depression and even suicide.  What positives come out of forcing people to repress their sexuality? What positives come out of keeping them from marrying? These people never decided to be the way they are or who they would be attracted to. I just hope for a future where stating your sexuality in public will be as normal as it seems to be on the internet. That having a different sexuality will be normal and that no one will be treated unfairly for it. 

Imagination

Author's Note: This is a simple poem I did for a creative piece.

The child's imagination is the engine to the world

When it runs out of fuel it transforms 

The toys stop battling and remain still

Their grand castle deforms to an old wooden desk with crayons and dried up markers

The forest surrounding the castle morphs into a new setting; a young boy's bedroom

Exciting Games

Author's Note: This is a poem where every first letter starts with the last letter of the last word. It doesn't make that much sense but it's hard to with these kind of things.

The

Earth

Had

Done

Exciting

Games

So

Opposing

Games

Sounded

Dumb

Every

Young

Girl

Laughed

During

Games

Somewhere,

Even

New

Watchers

Saw

What

The

Exciting

Games

   Showed. 

The Good Guys and Bad Guys

Author's Note: this is a point of view piece about Harry Potter. 

Books, and stories in general usually include a “good guys” side and a “bad guys” side. Usually the point of view the book is told in is considered “the good side”. Every single Harry Potter book has remained mainly in the point of few of Harry. The only time they are not are in the first chapters of the books which usually consist of someone else’s point of few to show something going on meanwhile, which is sometimes shown in the “bad guys” point of few.

With Harry’s POV, we feel his emotions, thoughts, and senses on every situation. If we were in someone else’s perspective we wouldn’t get to experience his true thoughts or opinions on events. We would only see what’s on the outside. For instance, when Dumbledore dies in Harry’s perspective, it’s narrated in a sad, emotional way with Harry’s mental reactions mixed into it. We wouldn’t get to hear him scream “NO!”  in his head if it weren’t in his point of view or feel his hatred towards the killer.

But what if instead of feeling Harry’s mental reactions in his point of few, what if we got it from the “bad guys” view? Mentioned before, what if the whole series was written in the perspective of Voldemort and his men as opposed to just a chapter? Instead of Harry being described as a hero you’re rooting for and feeling, Harry is  portrayed as a foolish brat who always seems to escape from death with luck. Instead of rooting for him and wanting him to kill Voldemort, you’d want him to be defeated by Voldemort. If the Dumbledore scene mentioned before were written in a Death Eater’s perspective it would probably be written in a more triumph tone rather than sad and heart hitting. You wouldn’t be sad Dumbledore died, you’d be relieved the opponent was finally defeated.  

Wizard vs Swordsman

Author's Note: This is a compare and contrast piece between Harry Potter's Harry and The Legend of Zelda's Link. 

Imagine being an orphan your whole life. Imagine being the “chosen one” destined to save the word. Imagine being an outcast despite all of your heroic deeds. Harry Potter from Harry Potter and Link from The Legend of Zelda both share a similar fate. Harry and Link are 2 very similar characters and share some similar traits with each other.

As previously stated before, Link and Harry are orphans. Both of their parents left their child when they were only a baby, leaving their parents a mystery. Who were they? Why did they leave? What happened them? Harry and Link never really knew their parent’s because they left them so early in their life.  

In addition, Harry and Link are usually thought to be, in some shape or form, outcasts. In Ocarina of Time, Link was dropped off as a baby in the Kokiri Forest from his parents to keep him away from a raging war that was going on. The Kokiri Forest consisted of “tree children” called Kokiri. Kokiri are green clothed humans who always stay a child forever and possess a fairy companion. Link being a normal human, never got his own fairy to keep and was able grow up, leaving him, to all the other Kokiri in the forest, an outcast. He was usually teased for being so different. Similarly, Harry has been an outcast before as well. In The Chamber of Secrets, it was revealed to everyone that Harry could speak to snakes. Speaking to snakes usually were signs of dark magic, so people were afraid of him and thought he was going to hurt them. Some even teased him for it too. He was usually alone and sad because of this, rendering him an outcast, similar to Link.

On the other hand, while Harry and Link share some similarities, they also are very different to each other in some regards. Harry is described as a white, skinny boy with black hair and glasses, but Link is a white skinny boy with brown-ish , blond-ish hair and no glasses. While Link is just a swordsman, Harry is a full-blown wizard. Harry can perform numerous spells and charms while Link can only use potions and magical items. Harry generally talks a decent amount, but Link is a completely silent character who you never get to directly hear talk. Link is also not famous like Harry. Harry is always recognized by people everywhere he goes, unlike Link was is seen as just a normal boy by most people.

 In conclusion, Link and Harry are two very similar characters in my opinion. They both are brave, orphan outcasts who fight to save the world.  Some might disagree, but I think they are almost Identical in some regards, despite their differences. 

Coping with a Loss

Author's Note: This is my theme piece on Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I know I write way too much about Harry Potter, but it's what I've been reading the most recently and have been able to write about it without much trouble. 

The closet doors slide violently open as you stop stomp all around, checking every corner of the house until you realize you need to give up searching. You cry from having a loved one die and have to face the fact they are gone. That’s coping with a loss. In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, there are a few of examples of this, and I think it’s a recurring theme throughout the book, and even series.

Harry had to deal with losing something very close to him near the end of the book; The headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore. Him practically being his mentor and primary source for help regarding Voldemort troubles, Harry had to deal with the hard reality that he no longer could go to him for assistance. He was gone. Harry was on his own now.

Although different, another loss dealt with in the novel would have to be security. Ever since the news was revealed that Voldemort truly had returned, countless deaths were reported all over the news. Even with a strict security system around Hogwarts, parents still didn’t feel it was safe. With the death eater attack upon the school,  no where felt safe at that point. Nearly all security was lost and everyone had to cope with the horror and dread of it being absent.

While it is from the same series, another novel with a similar theme would be Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Instead of coping with Dumbledore’s death rather, Harry deals with the loss of his god father Sirius. The book also dealt with insecurity like Half Blood Prince, however it’s not quite as literal. The ministry was coping with a lose in a sense of security in a mental state. They refused to believe Voldemort had returned. They were being very insecure and had to try to deal with it.   

In conclusion, coping with a lose is a common theme within the Harry Potter books and many others alike. Chances are, you yourself have dealt with a lose in your life, whether it be a dead pet, family member or even simply losing an object. Everyone needs to cope with a loss at some point. 

The Obvious Fall of a Villain

Author's Note: This is my prediction piece. I actually had this done for a while, I just forgot to post it.

Does the bad guy ever really win? I've been reading the Harry Potter series chronologically since 6th grade. Having read 5 of them and being on the brink of finishing the 6th, I think I've gained an understanding of the series at this point. With the 7th being the last book, there is a lot for it to wrap up. Although I'm not very informed about the book,  I practically know is going to happen. Voldemort is finally going to get defeated for good in some shape or form. 

Ever since the first book, Harry Potter has always had something to do with Voldemort revolved around the story or conflict. Whether it be the first book where Harry is just figuring out about Voldemort, or the 4th book where Harry meets him in his full, reborn form, he always seems to be relevant. With the 6th book, Harry learns the origin of Voldemort and lots of important information about him. This origin would obviously lead up to one big finale, otherwise it's placement would be practically pointless.

Furthermore, Harry has a burning hatred for Voldemort. He wants to avenge his parents and all the people he had crucially murdered.  He want's to end all the dark and depressing times in the wizarding world. Harry always get's a fierce-full heroic rage whenever he battles him.  You can tell he's not going down without a fight and isn't going to let Voldemort win.

For the most part, if you look at almost any story you'll find that the antagonists will always be defeated within the final chapter of the series especially in fantasy. A good example is the Emperor from Star Wars. Similar to Voldemort in the sense of being an evil, pale, nearly inhuman being always seeking power and death; The Emperor was eventually thrown over by the end of the trilogy. The bad guys pretty much never win in these type of situations. 

I know Voldemort is going to lose. How exactly? I'm honestly not completely sure but from what I've heard and knowing J.K. Rowling, it's going to be something I would have never predicted in a million years.  All I know is that it's going to happen. Who would blatantly have the main character die to the villain? 

Retelling of Harry Potter 4

Authors Note: This is a retelling of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling.

This year at Hogwarts a dangerous competition is being held at the school with 2 other visiting schools. Students are allowed to enter the competition, but they have to be at least 17 years of age. To enter, you need to place your name in the Goblet of Fire. If anyone under the age of 17 tries to enter, it won’t work. However, mysteriously Harry’s name is drawn out of the Goblet of Fire regardless when he didn’t even try to enter nor have the appropriate age. Harry must fight in the competition, not only to win, but survive.  However, Harry will soon figure out who put his name in the Goblet, and how much more complex their plan really was. 

From Newcomer to Hero

Authors Note: This is an essay about the character development of Harry from the Harry Potter books.

Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series has gone through quite a lot. He started as a lonely, innocent orphan boy who lived with a crude Uncle and Aunt who couldn't care less about him. Harry had no friends and no one knew or cared about who he was. He was a complete nobody. His cousin got all the attention and love, and got tons of presents on his birthday. The best Harry ever got for his birthday was old, dirty socks. While Harry was treated rather poorly, he still usually did as he was told.  He rarely ever talked back or yelled.

When he found out about the Wizarding World and his fame, he couldn't believe it. "I'm not a wizard," He said. "I'm just Harry."Harry has never been used to fame or attention. He's been a no one his whole live. Everyone gapping at the mere sight of him everywhere he went, pointing at his scare amazed, it was quite an unexpected shift in gears.

Though throughout the course of the series, Harry did get used to this shift. From saving the school and people's lives a few times, he understood his fame from that point. He developed a bravery to protect his school, family, and friends. While he did get used to his attention, he still remained very modest. But his attention was not always positive. At one point, everyone but his family and friends thought Harry had gone mad. Newspapers, to quiet conversations in hallways, everyone feared he was crazy. As a result,  this caused Harry to start getting a quite an awful attitude.

He screamed at his friends for not talking to him at all during the summer after witnessing a terribly dark ending to his 4th year. He talked back to stuck up teachers and threw tantrums at those that claimed he was crazy. "I'm not lying!" he bellowed with rage, but the teachers didn't want to hear it. Of course, this caused Harry to earn many detentions. He was fed up with everything and everyone. Harry would never dare act in such a way in his first year.

If you pay attention, Harry's character is also quite reminiscent of Link from the Legend of Zelda game stories; although they are also 2 different characters at the same time. Both of them are orphans, but Link isn't exactly introduced to a fantasy land. Link already lives in that land, he is just introduced his destiny to be a hero. However the contrast still remains. Both Link and Harry start out as young, uninformed boys who only wish to make it through live. Both of them end as being brave, heroic, modest and even aggressive boys who swear to protect their family and friends. Even if it means death.

Harry isn't a young innocent child anymore. He isn't afraid to stand up for himself and his friends or get angry. While Harry still keeps himself as a modest, kind kid, one thing is still for sure. Harry sure isn't the same little boy he used to be when he first arrived at Hogwarts.

Patriot's Pen 2012

Why are rights so twisted during this time? Okay, I am from the future in 2012. The bill of rights you have been working on is very successful in the future, so I thank and congratulate you on that. However, you may notice how a lot of the actual people of your country never got much of a say in this bill. Believe it or not, in the future, everyone in America has equal rights. Yes, that includes women and other races. We should have started that way. 

Why is slavery okay? If you believe in equal rights for everyone, why does that only apply to white people? However I do understand slaves are what you rely on for work. If you were just to set them free, no work would get done. But like I said before, everyone in the future has freedom. If you don't give the slaves get freedom, then a civil war will be had over it. Now that doesn't mean you have to just let them go all at once and stop working. What I would suggest is slowly give them freedom, or in other words, get easier on them over time. Maybe even pay them eventually? You got a lot of money anyway don't you? 

Furthermore with equal rights, like I said before, let women have a say in this. Freedom isn't restricted to men. If you give women equal rights now, we won't need to go through the trouble later. Women are people too and deserve the same exact rights as you. Let them give their thoughts and ideas to the government.  

Doing this will likely fix so many issues. No civil war, little to no racial fights, and overall equality. We won't need to alter the rights that much later on, if at all. This country will start out a true free country. Not just free for rich white men. Everyone. Black, poor, female, everyone.  

The Power of Laughter

Authors Note: This is a Cause and effect of the Disney Pixar animated movie: Monsters Inc.

In Monster’s Inc, monsters rely on the power of screams of children to power everything in their world. Monsters’ jobs are to scare the children in their door. With each scare, they get screams, which work as power for the world. However, in this world, children and humans are forbidden and monsters are ironically afraid of children. One day,  the main characters, Sully and Mike, get themselves in a bit of an issue. A little girl, named Boo, follows Sully into the monster world without him knowing. Sully and Mike need to hide her or else they will get in big trouble. This caused them to change their daily lives and focus on not getting caught. By the end of the movie, the Monster World realizes they don’t need to scare the children for energy. They instead found that laughter was as strong, if not stronger that screams.

Boo following Sully effected the monster world. If Sully never got in the whole incident with Boo, he and the monster world would never find out that children are harmless.  They would continue scaring children instead of making them laugh. The monster world would never know that they don’t need to be afraid of children. They’re power wouldn’t be supplied as well as opposed to laughter.  

Harry Potter 5 conflict

Author's Note: This is a response piece on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix about the main conflict.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the main conflict in the beginning is a Person vs. Society. In the beginning almost everyone, including the government or Ministry of Magic, is against Harry. Harry has discovered Voldemort’s return but everyone refuses to believe him. The ministry even ends up taking over Hogwarts and making the school go mad with all the uptight rules.  Harry also is in a bad mood throughout most of the book, so it also has some Person vs. Self in there too.

The conflict get’s resolved by Harry proving Voldemort had returned and from the ministry leaving the school. Dumbledore earns is rightful place as headmaster of the school and Professor Umbridge, a lady from the ministry gets fired. Harry is still not in a great mood by the end of the book, but he’s not nearly as stressed as in the beginning.   

Kidney Surgery

Author's Note: This is a short essay about the time I got my kidney removed.

When I was born, apparently something was wrong with one of my kidneys. Later when I was 4 I was told I had to have surgery for it. I was really nervous. I remember being in the hospital for probably a week. The first night I slept there, my mom slept in the same room as me on a booth chair. It was really dark. They had a lot of wires strapped on me to keep track of my health. Most of the wires were  strapped  to my arms and wrists. Slowly overtime, my arms started to itch. I scratched it seamlessly for a bit. Although by the morning, I found out apparently I did more than just scratch it. Some of wires were all messed up and I didn’t have most of them on me anymore; I think I bled a bit too! But all was well and I don’t remember getting in much trouble, I didn’t know any better anyway. I was only 4 after all.  

Within a few days of laying on a bed, it was already time for the surgery. I remember nothing of that day other than when the operation was over. I remember waking up being dizzy and finding it hard to walk. Later I recovered and was able to walk fine. When I looked at my belly I saw stitches around my belly button. I thought it made it look like a sun, with stitches being the light. Those stitches are still there to this day, and will be there forever. Later on the way home my family told me when they gave me the medicine to put me asleep, I was acting very loopy. So loopy I was talking to the little animals on my bed sheet! I remember absolutely none of this.

Having surgery was one of the biggest things to happen to me in my life. To this day, my mom doesn’t want me playing any dangerous sports to potentially break my remaining kidney. That means no football, wrestling, or hockey. That’s okay with me though, I never really cared for those sports that much anyway.  While the whole experience of surgery was very blurry, I’m going to remember it forever. It’s had a huge impact on my life. 

Harry Potter 5 Retelling

Author's Note: This is a short retelling of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for a book ad project.

The book Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix is the 5th book in the series. The book starts out right after the 4th one, with Voldemort returning from a downfall. Harry claims Voldemort is back to everyone, but everyone but his family and friends thinks he's gone mad. A women from the Ministry of Magic, the main people who refuse to believe Voldemort is back. She always punishes Harry for what he claims. She eventually even gets the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the school, fired. Eventually she ends up substituting him. By the end of the book, Voldemort is finally exposed and after several months of torture, everyone believes Harry.  

I recommend this book to anyone who like fantasy and or the other Harry Potter books.