1. I thought it was difficult to write stage directions. I wanted to have so many different scenes, but I had to limit myself to having only two or three. The set that I imagined in my head was much more detailed and pretty, but when I wrote it in my stage directions it wasn’t at all like I pictured. I liked explaining the scenes and characters through dialogue rather than just telling the reader how everything was. It was hard to have a theme in my play...I kind of just told a fun story. I don’t think I would be interested in writing drama or anything like that, but I could be good at coming up with some ideas!

2. Some ideas for my personal essay, I could write about a day in Montana. Details of how I learned to love the outdoors and love the water. I could write about Paige’s accident and how I remember every detail and every facial expression of the people I was with when we found out. It seems like that moment was frozen in time...I’m never going to forget that. I could write about the day my sister Callie got in a car accident and the paramedics told us it was a miracle she was alive. I have some ideas for my story but it will be hard to figure out which one to write and the incorporating the detail so it feels like everything is so real.

3. If I were to give a 10 year old advice about growing up in today’s world, I would tell them to not change themselves based on other people. From what I’ve learned and seen, some kids love to do rebellious things to be different and get attention. I think the people that are different are the ones who stay true to their values and beliefs and gain respect in a good way. Peer Pressure is a big issue and if you find a group of friends who share the same morals as you, you will be fine! Advice for school is to do your homework (especially starting in 9th grade). If you do your homework, that’s most of your grade right there and then the testing and quizzes will fall into place after that! :)

1. I think theme is very important in most stories. I don’t think there always needs to be a theme or an obvious lesson to the story. Sometimes I like reading a piece and then trying to figure out what the author was trying to get at or teach. Sometimes the author has nothing to teach but still makes the story intriguing so we try to stretch our imagination and figure it out. My favorite lesson learned in a story is about how life is short and to never take anyone or anything for granted. I started writing my play and realized I didn’t really have a specific theme to my story. I also realized it wasn’t good enough to not have some sort of set theme to the story. I think figuring out a theme and connecting everything in the story to that theme is a very difficult task.

2. I think the great literary works have lasted this long because they can still relate to people today and also share something about the world at that point in time. I have never personally read any of those works but I can assume that they tell a lot about the time period it was happening in. I could also assume that the issues the people were facing or relationships they had could connect with people today. I think I could do a pretty good job writing about the world today, but I don’t know if it would be good enough for people to get the whole picture of how life was like in my time period. I think I’d do great writing about teenage life but that’s it... I don’t know enough about the lives of adults... and everything is changing so fast it would be hard to capture the whole picture.

3. I want to make an impact on the people I have known in this life, not so much anyone else. I want them to know I was a happy person and laughing is my favorite thing in the world. I would want people to think I truly cared about them and loved listening to what they were thinking and how they were feeling. I want people to be proud to know me and be proud to have had a relationship with me. I hope the people that I am close with or the people who I just have one conversation with can get the sense of who I truly am. I think being “you” is the most important thing. If someone wants you to change a part of who you are, then that person is not worth having a relationship with. As a writer, I just think that each piece should have a part of “you” in it so that people can tell it’s yours and it fits what your personality is and how you look at life.

1. In most peer groups, I think trust is a big issue. If you tell a secret to someone in your group of friends, it always seems to get out to everyone else. “You can’t tell anyone I said this but..” usually has a domino effect. Trust is also a big issue because it’s hard to gain it back once you’ve lost it. In my personal experiences, I have a really hard time trusting a person. I’ve been hurt and betrayed so many times that if someone says or does something it will always stick in the back of my mind.
2. The stats guy of our basketball team has the most dynamic personality. Every time someone says thank you to him, he responds “God Bless You”. He seems to be a very socially awkward person, but he actually can carry on an interesting conversation for a long time. When you first meet him, he seems to be a guy who would have a hard time fitting in with people. When you get to know him he has a way of connecting with each and every person. On top of this, he is a genius!
3. A song that has had a big impact on me is “Moving On” by Rascal Flatts. I listen to it when I feel like I need to just put things in the past. If something is bothering me or I have just gotten in a fight with someone, it reminds me to be the bigger person and figure everything out. It helps me realize I shouldn’t dwell on certain arguments but I just need to forgive and forget. I think life is way too short to hold grudges because you never know what could happen the next day.