I'm Yours

Author’s Note: This is a text analysis piece on the lyrics of the song I’m Yours by Jason Mraz. This song means a lot to me and could mean many things to other people as well. Some people don’t always get the girl or guy that they like to like them back, but in this song Jason is giving it all he’s got for this one girl.

“Whoa! Did you see that girl?!? She was as beautiful as heaven!” Jason yelled. I can only agree with him because he is my best friend, but I also did see her. She was pretty good looking. Except for the fact that I have a girlfriend. I just have to keep my response simple, I think to myself.

“I guess you could say that,” I thought for a while about what I could say and thought this would be the best answer.  I mean seriously, how pretty could she really be.  That was obviously a dumb question because now he is going crazy about her and trying to find where she went.  I guess you could count that as trying to ask her out. Later he realized that he would have to work hard to get her to accept him. The same concept is in the song I’m Yours by Jason Mraz.  I think for the most part, this song is about having someone accept you, and not letting them get away from you.

In multiple parts of the song, to me the lyrics are read to say that the writer, or person saying this, is trying to get a girl to like him, but he failed multiple times.  There is a stanza in the song saying that the person tried to be all cool and casual, but he couldn’t keep his composure around this girl. It is also saying that he fell pretty hard for her.  In my head, the artist is trying to make it a point that he wants the girl to overlook that he just met her, or that he is being annoying by following her everywhere, or even possibly by trying too hard.  All you have to do is be yourself, and ask politely! Some people might be able to relate to this because maybe they  tried to get a girl to go out with them,  but she kept rejecting the question, maybe because they  were trying to be cool, or because she didn’t like you back, or many other reasons.

There are many reasons that a girl might not go out with you but that doesn’t mean that you need to drive her insane like in this song. Many stanzas in the song are relatable and comprehendible.  A lot of lines in the song are relatable moments for a boy or man.  Maybe you are a guy where this has happened to you, maybe once, or maybe multiple times. Don’t worry, you will almost always find the right girl for you. Many people might mistake the lyrics to mean something completely different, or something else out of context.  For example in the song the lyrics say something completely different that you have probably never heard before, or will never hear again. There are many moments in this song where you might get confused for a couple of seconds, but then you will get right back on track and know exactly what it is referring to, or what it means.

In my opinion the song is kind of telling you in a way that you should never rush into something, annoying someone out of their mind, or even act all cool. All you need to do is be yourself. If a guy is pushy, no one likes him. My overall thought on this song is that he is trying to get to the point of himself asking a girl out but is doing it all wrong. So, if you ever ask a girl out, just be kind and be yourself!

Don't Give Up (Spring DWA)

Author's Note: This piece was an essay about the theme of Catching Fire, written by Suzanne Collins. I believe the theme for this book is "don't give up." Within this piece, look closer at my comma, colon, and semi-colon usage. 

It was a terrible storm, maybe one of the worst I had ever experienced. The rain was coming down hard and strong, the thunder was louder than I have ever heard. The lightening was brighter than the sun. Everyone was trembling, except for me. I kept saying I will never give up. I kept running and running until I finally reached the finish line.  I ended up coming in first because I never gave up.  Just like in the book Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins, Katniss doesn’t give up on trying to keep Peeta alive. The theme of this book is, “don’t give up.”

In Catching Fire Katniss and Peeta are sent back into an arena for “The Quarter Quell.” A “Quarter Quell” occurs every 25 Hunger Games and always has a special twist put on it.  On this particular year, the 75th annual, one male and one female victor must go back into the arena and fight. Right before Katniss and Peeta leave for the Quarter Quell. Katniss and Peeta once again leave for the “Quarter Quell” and this time Haymitch, their mentor in the first games and in this game, is trying harder to keep Peeta alive than Katniss. In the last Hunger Games Haymitch had more belief in Katniss so he tried harder to keep her alive by sending her more gifts; However in the Quarter Quell Haymitch and Katniss made a deal to try and keep Peeta alive.  There are many examples in the book of how Katniss doesn’t give up on saving Peeta. "Tick tock," is a quote used in the book multiple times and it really means a lot if you have read the book. This quote is explaining the arena they were sent to for the Quarter Quelle and was first stated by Wiress, a tribute in the games. When he first said this he also said that the clock will keep going until the end, but so will I. All of the other people in his group agreed with him and said they will never give up.

Just like in Catching Fire, in this quote written by Babe Ruth, you can never give up.  “You just can’t beat the person who won’t give up.”  ~Babe Ruth~   This quote means a lot to me because of its value. Babe Ruth was a very focused athlete  who obviously knew he should never give up on anything.  When Babe wrote this, he must have just realized that winning is a lot easier when you don’t give up. This relates to Catching Fire because Babe Ruth would never give up on his work, and neither does Katniss. Babe was also really hard to beat in a baseball game because of his strategy to never give up.

In the long run, you should never give up. “Don’t give up,” is the theme of Catching Fire. Babe Ruth once said “You just can’t beat the person who won’t give up.” No matter what happened to Katniss in the arena she kept powering through it to keep Peeta alive. Even if it is a very small possibility that you could win, you should still never give up. 

The Lane Shark

It was a bad night at the bowling alley. Strikes were few and far between.  A far cry from the normal repeated flashing “strike” on the scoring monitor. Bowlers were a buzz about what could be the problem. The bowling mechanic made his usual nightly appearance to greet the bowlers, to see how they were doing. “Something must be wrong with the lanes,”  we all told him. “We are just not scoring tonight. What could be the problem?” 

“Hmmm,” he said. “Must be some dirt on the lanes.”  His comment made one of the bowlers stop and think.  If there is dirt on the lanes, it must need to get cleaned on a regular bas is. Thinking this through, it seemed   like it would take hours for one person to clean that many lanes.  “There has to be a better solution, and I am going to find it,” thought one bowler on an off night of bowling way back in 1987. The cogs started turning and he wouldn’t give up until he had a better solution to the dirty lane problem. He thought and he thought, and he drew and he drew. He built and he rebuilt, until at last…the invention of the Lane Shark lane cleaning machine was born.

Tom Westenberger, the creator of the Lane Shark lane cleaning machine,  is now a successful  bowling contractor and is proud of his invention made in 1998. Tom was at the age of 31 when his brilliant invention of a bowling lane cleaner came to thought.  He had always been  a person who liked to build, improve, and tinker with many things that his dad had lying around. He got inspired by his dad, also a bowling contractor, who was tired of wiping up the floors with a broom and a towel. Tom started working for his dad in the summer at the age of ten. Ever since then he has been very interested in everything that has to do with bowling, bowling lanes, or a bowling alley.

Tom is also interested in creating his own products. He also liked to help his dad with whatever he could help with. Tom invented this machine because of the hours of work it took to clean all of the bowling lanes in one alley. Before he created his machine you would have to clean the top layer of the lane with a towel and sweep it with a towel . You would also have to put a solution of water and soap on the btowel .  After that, you would have to go over the lane again to dry it. Tom was tired of doing this long process, so he created the Lane Shark. The Lane Shark is a machine that automatically squirts the solution of soap and water on the lane, and then vacuums it back up. The only work that requires you to do is gently pushing the machine down the lane and back. Although now they have a machine that goes down the lane and back with the push of a button, I think we can cut him some slack since that was a few years ago!!!

The way that Tom came up with this was with a lot of thinking. He said,” I had to put in lots of tough thinking, and a lot of drawings were also included.” One of the first steps in this idea was to make a working model out of wood, then fabricated with steel.  He also made many improvements within 6-8 months.  There was a total of one main frame, as well as 75-100 different smaller parts.  When he was done building and improving, he worked with a company called DBA Products Company from Chicago. Once he developed a distributorship with DBA ,he sold all machines to their company and DBA sold to all of their distributors. After that the distributors sold Lane Sharks all around the world in individual bowling allies. DBA sold a total of approximately 1,500 Lane Shark’s,  and there is at least one Lane Shark in every country where bowling is popular.

In a nutshell, there is a solution to every problem.   If you think long enough and hard enough, you could just develop the solution to a common problem.  And who knows… if you find one solution, maybe, just maybe, you’ll find more!!!

P.E. Class

Author's Note: This piece was asked to be written for a gym essay. Within the piece were were told to include different activities that take place in gym class and how it benefits our bodies.

SMACK! I hear the volleyball hit my hand when it flies over the net. The other team has a tough time getting to it, but they end up getting it over the net.  I take a step back and watch the ball come right to my arms, a perfect pass to the setter.  Right away the setter says, “Mine, mine, mine,” letting us all know that she is going to take the ball. Making a smart move, she tips the ball over the net, where the other team has left the court wide open.  This is what happens sometimes when we are able to play volleyball in P.E. and because of those opportunities, many people like P.E. because of the variety of skills we learn.  Generally, physical education is a very good class to take because of its benefits to all of our growing bodies.

When our bodies grow we need to keep in shape so that we stay healthy. This is where P.E. class helps us. In our P.E. class we do an assortment of skills such as: hand-eye coordination, agility, hand-eye-foot coordination, and we learn about many other sports.  We also do a health unit dealing with drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. We also learn how to give CPR and use the AED. When we are not studying a sport or a health topic, we do the Presidential Fitness Testing, a test using different skills to measure your activeness.   Within this test we are required to do a certain amount of sit-ups, pull-ups, run a timed mile, sit-n-reach, shuttle run, and the pacer test.  The level you must reach is determined by the amount you were able to do in 6th grade at Horizon.  For example, if I did my shuttle run in 10.4 seconds in 6th grade, then I would have to get less than 10.0 seconds in 7th grade. Throughout 8th grade and high school I would have to either keep improving or get the same score, depending on what score you have. We do lots of sit-ups outside of the fitness testing as well; this means that we will most likely not have core or spine problems when we get older.

While we do lots of physical activity in our gym class we also learn about different cancers and what they can do to your body. In addition we learn how to keep our bodies in shape. This can really benefit our bodies when we get older. Our knees shouldn’t crackle or pop because we run and do lots of balancing stretches in gym, when we get older. I think that we also benefit from our P.E. class because it teaches us about the side-effects of smoking, eating disorders, doing drugs and many more things that aren’t especially healthy for our bodies.

In all of the skills and sports that we learn how to play, I can tell that almost everyone likes to walk into P.E. because they know they will have fun time learning about how to keep their body healthy. Due to all of the good things we do in P.E. class, it is a good way to keep our bodies healthy and in shape.

Band Concert Evaluation

Author's Note: This is an essay evaluation about the seventh and eighth grade band concert on March 6, 2013 in the Pewaukee High School's new auditorium. 

The seventh and eighth grade band performance at the Pewaukee High School’s new auditorium on March 6, 2013. In the big picture, I think that both of the bands did a really good job throughout the entire performance. 

The first portion of the concert was done marvelously by the seventh grade band playing their 5 songs.  All the way through this portion of the concert the seventh grade band did an excellent job with their dynamics, intonation and many more things. Their songs were with many different sounds and emotions making me want to get out of my chair and dance.

Right away my ears tuned into the jazz band with their sassy sounds and musical enthusiasm. I thought it was especially cool when certain musicians could play different instruments. Such as the tuba player, Drew Godsel, could also play the drum set particularly well. Also the dynamics were excellent for this instrumentation as well.

During the eight grade bands performance I was really intrigued by the different sounds they made with their mouths during the song The Great Locomotive.  The different sounds and noises were very well choreographed and done well by everyone.   Throughout the different pieces in the eighth grade segment of the concert I could really hear all of the different sections and the dynamics that the different sections were playing.

In the long run, I think the entire band concert was fantastically put together.  All three of the bands were fantastic and sounded really well together.  On the other hand, both of the bands could have done a bit more of counting.  However, the song selection was awesome. I could really hear the emotions through the songs. 

The Fortune Cookie

Author’s Note: This piece is a short story involving semi-colons, colons, and commas. The main characters are Hunter and his wife, Stacey.

Imagine having to flee the country, for no reason, only because a fortune cookie told you to. Hunter is going through this exact crisis. He knows the cookie is true because all of the other fortunes he’s read have come to life. For example: Two months ago he read a fortune saying , “Within the next week you will have luck with employment.”  The very next day he got a fantastic new job at the hospital, and his wife had just gotten a new job as a physical therapist.  Only today, he didn’t want to believe what the cookie had told him. He read it once again; “Leave the country at once, your life is in danger; only take what you desperately need. Do NOT say a word to anyone about this message.” Floating around in his head was the last thought of the note he had just read. Over and over again… “Do NOT say a word to anyone.”

Hunter immediately got up and ran all the way home to find his wife sitting on the couch with a book in her hand, giving him a puzzling look.  He thinks again of the last part, “Do NOT say a word to anyone,” and suddenly realizes he cannot tell his own wife about what he had read on the little slip of paper just  five minutes ago.  Right away Hunter decides to obey what the fortune told him so he starts packing a bag. Thinking of the consequences, he only slips one thing to his wife; “Get a suit case out and start packing!” She follows his orders with a little smirk on her face.

Hunter takes both of the luggage bags; he tells her to follow him to the car. Just like before, she thinks he is crazy but does it anyway. Both Hunter and Stacey race to get a cab to go straight to the airport. Hunter knows he is making the right choice by following the fortune’s directions; but somehow he just can’t seem to be entirely convinced.  When they both reach the airport, they pay the driver and sprint in towards the security and ticket purchasing counter. He looks at all of the different flights; domestic and international.   Being of English descent, Hunter told the ticketing agent, “two tickets to London, please.”  Finding it impossible to contain the secret, Hunter tells Stacey the entire story of how the fortune cookie had persuaded him to leave the country as they were waiting to board the plane.  For a week, for a lifetime… ?  Only time would tell.

After the flight Hunter and Stacey are shocked at how amazing and strange it is to be in England where everyone thinks  they have an accent. Almost by an instinct they hop into another taxi-cab to find the best hotel they can afford to stay at until they can find an apartment.  Before they got out of the cab they  both looked around to see if there is anyone suspicious like a sheriff or guard; someone who might be looking to hurt him. They look both ways and spot no one at all. So, they take a step out of the cab and find themselves in front of a beautiful hotel. They make the decision to stay, and get checked in right away. Hunter decides to freshen up in the men’s room while Stacey is checking in because now he spots someone that he had seen at the airport in America; not just a normal  England tourist, but perhaps a person who might be trying to follow him and his wife.

With things seeming to get more peculiar every minute, Hunter pulls his wife away from the front desk of the hotel and asks if she really wants to stay there. He tells her about the person he thinks could be following them, and together they decide to make a quick exit.  Relieved to get out of the hotel, they grab a taxi-cab to the other side of town.  Reluctantly, Hunter scopes out the cars around the cab and spots the person following them in the car behind them.  He thinks about what has transpired in the last few hours, and in the back of his mind the thought keeps repeating itself… “Do NOT say a word to anyone.”

Realizing that the only way to escape from the torment of the repeating fortune is to meet it head-on, Hunter tells the cab driver to pull over at the next hotel.  Either the follower will also pull over; or he will go on, meaning he wasn’t following them after all.  Hunter had to have the answer.  Pulling up to the Hilton, the cab driver starts calculating the fare, and  Hunter watches as the car behind them drives on by.  WHEW!!!  Hunter had his answer, and now he and his wife could enjoy their English holiday!  A bit of an extreme circumstance to get them to England, but now that they were there, they were going to enjoy it.  They sat down to dinner, toasted each other with their water glasses, and lived happily ever after… back at home in their little cottage in  Iowa.  And they never, ever, opened another fortune cookie for the rest of their days!

Twin Trouble

Author’s Note: Throughout this piece I used a variety of different figurative language.  This piece is a creative piece that I chose to make into a short story.

Have you ever hated your twin sister or brother? This is just how Sammy and Rachel feel about each other ALL the time. These two twins are constantly bickering about everything they come across and currently they have just found a new fighting topic dealing with what they think may be their best friend.

One random Friday afternoon, Sammy and Rachel get off their bus at the end of their driveway and open the mailbox to check for their new mail.  Jumping up and down with excitement are Sammy and Rachel, because of a certainly special birthday invitation from their best friend, Molly. Both of the girls walk up the driveway staring at the invitation with a smile on their face as big as a clown’s.  You can already tell that both of the twins cannot wait for the birthday party.  They have read about a party at the new building called, “Flabbergast”, a place with big blow up obstacles and toys.  

The next two days, are Saturday and Sunday.  Sammy and Rachel can’t wait to talk to Molly all about what she wants as a gift. DING! A light went off in Rachel’s head; she had remembered a great idea that Molly had mentioned she wanted at school. On Monday all of Molly’s closest friends are crowded around her in a whisper about the Flabbergast event occurring in just a week.  They are trying to squeeze out of Molly what she wants for her birthday.  Sammy and Rachel smile at each other, knowing that they have the best idea of all.

When Sammy finally gets to be alone with Molly she asks who all was invited so she would know who and who not to talk to; neither of the twins likes to hurt other people’s feelings.  Eventually Molly gets down to the big secrets of all of the invites and releases a big top secret that acts like a slap in the face to Sammy. At that moment, Sammy was saddened to death. Suddenly, Sammy starts sprinting and tries to find Rachel, but cannot no matter where she goes, there is no sign what so ever of Rachel.  Until the end of the day Sam is looking all over for Rachel even when she is supposed to be doing her homework at school.  All of a sudden Rachel appears to be in the same classroom as Sam, but talking to all of her friends, just like she has been the whole time Sam has been looking for her.

Right when Sam is walking up to Rachel, Molly stops her, making sure that Sammy knows Rachel will never know.  If I were Rachel and I was getting told this, Sammy’s words would be bullets to my head.  When the girls get off of the bus again they both are checking the mailbox at the same time, and that brings an important thought to the mind of Sam… Molly doesn’t want Rachel to know.

Whenever Sammy and Molly would come across Rachel they would completely avoid the subject of the birthday party except for when Rachel would bring it up with a simple question, or says how excited she is about it. Quite frequently she would express her feelings about all the different gifts she has thought of getting that she doesn’t think Molly would like. Now that Molly and Sammy have completely run out of things to say about the birthday party that they can say without revealing the top secret, the conversation between the three of them is as dull as dishwater.

Finally Molly says she needs to talk to Sammy alone and reveals that she will let Sammy tell Rachel the secret they have been keeping from her almost the whole week.  As a result of this decision, Sammy decides to tell Rachel when they are at home so that Rachel can’t hurt or do anything to Molly in anger.

Right when they get off of the bus Sammy and Rachel race to the front door, Rachel winning by just a hair.  Immediately Sammy spills the beans and tells Rachel all of the information she knows about the birthday party. Rachel gets furious when she finds out that ONLY Sammy was invited to the birthday party and not herself.  Rachel gets so furious she is about to have a cow.  Surprisingly it ONLY takes Rachel the ENTIRE REST OF THE WEEK to get over it. By the end of the week Rachel is completely friends with Molly again, but is just stumped at why she is not invited to the birthday party of her best friend. 

After math, their silent work hour, Rachel decides to confront Molly, but just comes across one slight problem. Molly is nowhere to be seen. Everyone has looked everywhere. All but one person knows where she is because of course, Molly is preparing for her party at Flabbergast this afternoon. Until now, Rachel hasn’t even had a bad thought about not being invited to Molly’s party; however, since Molly has been excused from school and the birthday party is becoming more of a reality to Rachel, she is now facing the blow that she feels has thrown her way.

The bus stops, Sammy and Rachel get off, and Rachel goes into auto-pilot with her emotions leading the way.  She tells Sammy she wants to play hide-and-seek, and she tells Sammy “the closet would be a great place to hide!”  Sammy takes her advice, just as Rachel had planned. “CLICK” the lock on the doors snaps into place as Rachel runs away. Smiling to herself, Rachel thinks, “I’ve done it!  If I can’t go to the party, Sammy can’t, either.” 

                                                        

The end of the story sounded good until…  “Sammy, Rachel… where are you?”  Oh no, MOM!!