When I first arrived in august I expected huge piles of homework and endless worksheets. At first it was nerve raking. And I did make a few mistakes. But I soon realized I had been prepared. And the seventh grade wasn’t as bad as it once seemed. By October, my life was getting better by the the day. I had found a way to juggle my extracurricular activities and my work. School encouraged me to try nephew things and helped me discover my love for volleyball and music!

This year thought me to separate social and school (work first of course), manage homework and studing, and find which electives suit me. I look back at the year with pride in my accomplishments. If I had to do it over again I wouldn’t change a thing (except that one time I lost my homework…bad job on my part). My advice to next years seventh graders is use this as an opportunity to find what you love and what classes you want to take. If u aren’t careful you just might have a good time. Good luck!

Leadership requires intelligence, kindness, and a hard working attitude. Leaders are people who set a good example and try their best every time. A leader can’t be lazy and golf off. That doesn’t mean they can’t be fun. They just have to know when it’s time so sit down and get some work done. They have to lead the way with a goal in mind.

Kindness is an important characteristic in a leader because it allows a bond to form between the leader and the people their leading. If a leader does make an effort to connect with their group than they aren’t really doing their job. I hope to one day be a great leader myself.

Love is a spark that lives inside you. The more you try to stop it the more it grows. When you try to dim it’s light it burns brighter than before. The more you resist its warmth the hotter it becomes. Love, love deceives you. It blinds from the truth. If you try to shut it out, You try to cool it down, then it only grows brighter and burns hotter like the sun.

But love is also beauty. Love is forgiving and kind. Love is pure happiness that never leaves your side. Love is like the sun shine. Warm and bright. Love wraps you in its arms and holds you nice and tight. And though love can bring sadness and hardship and tears. Love also brings you laughter. To you and to your peers.

I have always thought of Robert Frost as an amazing poet and as a writer I find his work inspirational. Even as a kid his work left me in awe. At my house, while flipping through a book of his poems, I found one in particular that caught my eye. I wanted to share this writer with you, because of the connection his writing has to me and my child hood. But I wanted to share this particular poem with you, because I feel like I can relate my feelings to it.

Fire and Ice
by Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

*from an ants perspective*

Huge, thin trees cover the land. The say the trees cover the whole world. The huge green trees that rise ominously over us. No one has ever dared climb the trees. The nurturers teach us, as young, that beyond the trees lies a creature. Big and dark. And that if he sees you, he releases oceans and oceans of cold clear venom that wipes out everything it touches. It would destroy The Hive in one terrible sweep. So we stay on the ground. Feed the old, nurture the young, and protect the queen. And silently wonder. Like the generations before us.

But if you had a chance, to see a whole world never seen by anyone, wouldn’t u want just a glimpse? So everyday I wander from The Hive. And I find the tallest tree in the forest, and I slowly creep up the stalk. My breathing slows as I climb. My legs prickle at the coolness of the wind. And everyday I climb a little farther. And everyday my curiosity heightens. But as I reach the top, I see how wrong we were. The world is so much bigger than the trees, the ground, and The Hive. In fact I can see four more Hives just a little ways away.

Then I see it, the Hive of the monster rises before me. It’s big and strange. I know I should be hiding but the smell coming from it is too satisfying. I don’t see any warriors guarding the entrance. Maybe just a peek. I’d scurry in and out before the monster could see me. He wouldn’t have time find his poison before I’m gone. So I reached my legs out to the crack in the wall and stumbled in.

TO BE CONTINUED…