Journal #1a (free write, List of Things)

1. Things I am afraid of:
-spiders
-rats and mices
-butterflies
-death
-not living up to my potential
-god
-not being apart of change
-the dark
-tight spaces

2. Things i would die for:
-knowing all my family and being more connected with them
-change

3. Things I am passionate about:
-change
-love
-politics and human rights
-poetry

4. Things I would try
- sky diving
- swin with dolphins
- sushi
- go on a space mission
- go in a hot hair ballon

5. Things I can't live without
- my phone
- laptop
- knowledge
- music

6. Things I love
-food
-best friends
-mom
-god
-facebook
-spongebob

7. Things I hate
- broken promises
- fake people
- fireflies
- skechers

8. Things that annoy me
-clutter
-lies
-vulgar behavior
-commercials
-stupid movies
-viruses

9. Things I'd wish for
-everlasting peace
-unlimited supply of money
-no homeless people

10. Things that I would never forget
-9/11
-Haiti's earthquake
-The first time I came to the United States
-My first prom

1. The thing I am most afraid of are spiders! I truly hate those 8 legged creatures because of the way they look, their ability to move quickly and they make webs everywhere. I am not exactly sure where this hatred began but as I grew older, the more i feared them. I have tried to get over this fear of mine by watching eight legged freaks but I think i may have made my fear even worse. I have evn tired killing them by throwing my shoes and books across the room and they quickly scramble away to another spot. I don't think that I will ever get over this fear, spiders are evil creatures.

2. I have an enormous family on both parents' side and then I have my step family. However, I feel like I barely hvae any because my family is extremely disconected from one another. I would die for my family to get closer and to live a happy life together. I believe that the closeness that a family shares is necessary part of life and I am unfortunately missing out on that.

3. Every teenager and young adults endure hard times throughout the times we spend growing up. Most times at home, I feel really lonely and then all the stress from school made me feel worse. During those times I needed to find solace and that is where my passion for writing poetry began. I was never a fan of writing journals because my inconsistent habits, but with poetry, I would write whenever I was feeling low. I also use poetry to express my feelings of the world, all the people that inhabit it and for things that I could'nt possibly say out loud.

4. Knowing that I am only 16 years old, I haven't tried many things, especially extreme activities. Before I die, I would love to go Skydiving because I want to experience something exciting and thrilling at the same time. I think it would broader my experiences and that would just be one more story to tell.

5. I absolutely, positively cannot live without knowledge because the world never stops progressing and neither should I. The knowledge that I already have, has gotten me through many tasks ans trials in life . Knowledge is truly power because the more you know, the more you can get out of life and the different perspectives that you looks at.

6. I love my closest friends and I don't know if life would be the same without them. The shared life experiences that I got the chance to be apart of are unforgetable and unique. They help me with all my school and personal problems to the best of their abilities and they are never too busy to put up with me.

7. I wasn't sure if I hated broken promises more than sketchers but I finally came to a conclusion. I remember being 10 years old and my step aunt promised me an easy bake oven and to this day I haven't received it. I've been mad ever since and I was hurt that someone could use the word promise so easily then break it, especially a child. Ever since that day, when anyone used the word promise to me, I never expected anything so that if I didn't get it, I wouldnt be sad. Recently, my own father made a promise to me that he broke and now I have decided that I will no longer tolerate him.

8. I hate walking on the streets and seeing teens my age act recklessly and loud for no good reason. Not only is it embarassing, but it is also disturbing to everyone that is watching that person carry themself that way. I also have a promblem with the violence that is at a sky high today. Violence is bad enough, but being an eyewitness to certain extreme behaviours brings tears to my eyes because I can't imagine that this is what the world has come to.

9. I wish I lived a life where they were no homeless people because it is extremely sad walking past 10 homeless people on one block and dozens in the train stations. I feel that as a nation that represents the people, we should ensure that we decrease the number of people lingering around the streets without a bed to sleep on and all the other basic necessities of life.

10. Earlier this year, Haiti's earthquake had an emotional effect on not only Haitians but also Americans and other people that were aware of the crisis. I am no Haitian but I had deep felt sympathy for all my Haitian friends and especially all the adults and children in Haiti. At an attempt to help the haitian citizens, Mr. Rosser, seven other students and I went by the 66st train station near the school to try to get people to text the number to send 10 dollars. I was actually amazed at the amount of people we got to text and two other friends and I were interviewed by an ABC news person. It was a good feeling knowing that I have contributed to the world thousand of miles away and I will never forget that.