Class final

1. I’ve really enjoyed all of the writing we’ve done this semester in creative writing and and I have learned so much about myself and my ability to write. I’ll share some of my favorites with you. One of my favorites has to be my first writing piece I did in this class. That is my Jersey story, I don’t think that I have put so much effort into a story before. I just felt all of my emotion come out into the writing. 2.My second has to be the spooky story about some figure being around the house. That one sure got some attention. Quite a few  people liked it and that was good to feel, because I just really enjoyed writing it.

3. What I really liked about other classmates writing was when they talked about their lives and how they become affected by certain things and how things affect them. I just like seeing that someone else is actually human and not trying to blend in with the mix.

4.I didn’t really put that much thought into my blog. I just came up with a clever/ funny name “ Jdizzle” and started from there. I liked being able to write out my feelings tho. It felt so good just to let it all pour out. I’d say it was a pretty cool experience. I honestly may continue to use it.

I mainly put emotional things in my journal, along with a ton of fluff pieces. 5.I dont really think anyone would want to read mine, just because its so boring. I would continue to use it as a filter and write my emotional writing in there.

5.‘She sits beside my bed, I lay my head on her shoulder. ‘ This is some writing from a book that I blacked out and made to my own. I really like this because it reminds me of my mom a lot.

6.Keeping it real

#7 Can you know in three days that you love someone? I believe that you can know that you love someone in three days. I think this because almost everyone says that they know from the second they first met that person.

#2 What are 3 tips you would give parents of teenagers? I would tell the parents that they need to give their teens a little space. Give them room to make their own decisions. Talk to them though and don’t forget to show them that you trust them. I would also tell them that they should try to spend time with them and if they don’t want to make them, they’ll miss out on a lot of things and your relationship with them won’t be as strong. Then another thing, you should try to be more than just a parent. Be a friend to them. Show that you’re more than just rules and that you understand them. You CAN be fun and have a good time and mess around with them.

#27 Are teenagers pretty hard on their parents? I feel like teenagers are a little hard on their parents. They do get over aggressive and don’t take the time to think about the how the parent feels. They will get more of an understanding when they come out of their teen years. I’m starting to see it in myself.

#30 Are you a good bowler? Umm… you know I’m a good bowler.

#29 My vacation home would be in Florida and it would be warm and sunny. I’d be on the beach the whole time.

7. I feel like I will be writing a ton more.  I love the creativity it takes to write anything. I have to be a little creative to write anything. I love being able to connect dots and write something amazing. I feel like you need to be creative and think in real life and that’s what creative writing allows you to do.

8. It was so awesome to meet everyone and hear what everyone has to say. I loved all of the stories and all of the emotional times we’ve had. This has been by far one of the best classes I’ve ever had. I’m glad I got the chance to meet all of you amazing and extremely gifted people. I will call you guys friends forever.

Flea Market Photos

Family or friends it’s all in the past, no one will be there again, but it won’t be forgotten. In these pictures are the memories that will last a lifetime. The mind may grow old and my make you forget, but the pictures can last forever. Nothing is ever forgotten with pictures.

Millennium Post

This is the terrified and the brave. This is the beginning to the end. This is a treat and the start of war, this is why we fight. We have something to be proud of. We have something to protect.

Food Inspired writing

I love food so much!!! I can’t think of anytime when I don’t love food. Food is the difference between a good day and a bad day. If you have a great meal or snack it can change your mood for the whole day. If you have bad food it can seriously mess up your mood and then you’ll be pissy all day. It’s bad news.

The best food is on the holidays or when you’re surprised with it. My favorite has to be Christmas dinner. I love everything we have. The mashed potatoes, ham, green bean casserole, and the deserts. All of it is just so good. I can’t get enough and I almost make myself sick. Hey, don’t judge, it’s the holidays.

The food you’re surprised with is one of the best too. Mainly because someone was thinking about you and cared enough to make or bring something to you. Its really good when you’re starving though. If you’re about to scream from being so hungry, its amazing to be able to satisfy your hunger. One of the best feelings in the world.

Food is such a blessing. It’s hard to appreciate it sometimes because it’s all around us, but some people can’t just eat all the time like we can here in the U.S. and some people in the U.S. can’t eat all the time. There are people in Africa starving and the wouldn’t take it for granted. I just feel like we should stop and appreciate what we have here.

This is... Photo writing

This is two brothers,
fighting for something better.

This is love, fear, sadness, anger, and grief

in one picture.

This is a struggle,

this is pain,

this is courage,

this is integrity,

this is character.

This is freedom,

this is earned, not given.

This is taken,

this is everyday, this is

this is, and this is no more.

This is war.

Spooky Season

My favorite Halloween was when I went to see a scary movie with my mom and then went to a haunted house after. I was in 7^th grade and didn’t want to trick or treat and of course I was a little too old for that, but I still wanted to do something. So my mom said that we should go see this new movie that’s supposed to be one of the best movies in America and it was scaring everyone that went to see it. This movie was Paranormal Activity, the first one. I was really excited to go see it and my sister was going to the Kickapoo haunted house so it would just be my mom and I. So we went to eat dinner then we went to the movie, the line was so long and we waited for about 30 minutes just to see this movie but it was supposed to be worth the wait, so we just chilled for a while.

So we got all of our drinks and popcorn and went to the movie. We sat down in the lower part of the theater because there were hundreds of people there. It wasn’t bad though, the closer you are the more scary it is, and I was planning on being scared. So everyone is crammed in this theater and the movie is starting so I’m starting to feel really anxious. The movie starts and everybody I freaking out and the girls start to scream at everything that pops out and I’m in the fetal position and I am pretty freaked out and I’m getting a decent rush out of it, but I feel like it’s not enough.

After the movie we get in the car my mom and I agree that it was fun but we need more. So we make a plan to go to Branson’s haunted house. So we pick up my sister and head to Branson and we’re all excited and nervous at the same time and wonder what to expect. I get really freaked out at haunted houses so I’m starting to get extremely nervous and worried, but I talk a big game still because I’m not going to look scared in front of my mom and sister.

We finally get there and I see the search lights in the sky and see all the cars parked in rows so I think I’m going to be okay because there’s other people so I’m not the only one being scared. The place looks really freaky and were walking in and I hear this creepy music and hear girls scream in the distance. Right about now is when I get extremely freaked out and kind of want to turn around. I can’t though, I must go through this.

The people are lined up and we’re waiting to go through the beginning of the haunt and everyone looks just like us, nervous and a little scared. We know we’ll be okay though, because if they touch us we get to hit them! Yay! I start feeling much better. I like hitting people, its mostly in football but its still hitting. Anyway we get to the entrance and I’m so nervous I could just take off and run at any second. We start going through and people jump out and walk out of nowhere and scare us. I was fine until we got to the dude with a chainsaw… I might have over reacted and the worst part is, we walked right past him, so he was right behind us.

I heard the chainsaw start up and I turned around quickly and saw the tall guy in a white mask with an apron and a chainsaw, and I WAS IN THE BACK!!! So I took off running and I know you aren’t supposed to do that because they chase you and its just not smart. I ended up trucking through my sister and mom to get to the front and I kept running. My sister fell and I stopped after I heard her crying… I was scared so I felt like it was the smart thing to do at the time. That time at the haunted house was the best time I’ve had on Halloween. Such great memories.     

Nighthags

The Fog

            There were many things that Jake wanted to do on Halloween, but being at the lake house with his family was the least of them all. His mom said he could do whatever he wanted to do when he got back home but he had to be with his family. Now the lake isn’t the first choice for anyone on Halloween but his family needed to spend time together, according to his mother. This was no other Halloween though and he didn’t know it yet, but this would be the craziest Halloween of them all.

            Every time Jake goes to the lake house he spends most of his time fishing and relaxing on the dock, so he got his bait, tackle, and pole and headed to the water. When he got to the dock he sat on a bench and started to bait his hook. The lake was calm and peaceful, there were birds chirping and there were no waves. It was a very calm day. It wasn’t sunny but not dark, a little overcast but still fairly light out. Jake throws his line out, puts in some headphones and throws his line out.

            As Jake fishes he starts to get to comfortable and slowly starts to fall asleep, his eyes open and shut easily. He falls asleep completely. As he sleeps a white mass starts to form across the lake and you can’t see the other side of the lake. The mass is getting bigger and closer. As it gets to the cove we see that its fog and it’s no other fog, this fog is white and you can barely see through it. The fog starts to roll to the dock and surround the dock and cover all the water on the lake.

            Jakes music runs out and stops, he starts to open his eyes and sees that it’s almost completely white around the dock. He jolts awake! He sits up almost hyperventilating. Jake calms down and starts to gather his thoughts. He looks around and notices that the birds aren’t chirping anymore and the water is lifeless. His pole is still in the water, so he reels it in and sees that the bait hasn’t been touched. Not a thing is different about it. So he starts to get suspicious and takes the bait off. Jake sits the pole down and walks off the dock and walks down the side of the lake.

             He hears the water moving, this is weird to him because the water was dead minutes ago. He starts to investigate, so he picks up a rock and throws it in to the water. The water splashes and is quiet for a moment. The rock flashes past Jake and lands on the shore behind him. He turns around slowly to see if he really did see the rock come back. Sure enough, there it was, wet and covered in moss. Jake picks up the rock slowly and turns back to the lake with wide eyes. He throws the rock back in. The same thing happens but this time the rock lands in front of him. He starts breathing harder and harder. He looks around in the fog and starts to pick up the rock, and bends down to get it. As he reaches down for the rock he hears the water fall down off of something in front of him. This is impossible because he is standing in the middle of the shore. Is eye pan up and see a huge black figure in front of him. Jake starts to sprint and slips on the rocks. The figure moves in to him. It stands over him and stays for a moment. The figure drops onto him and hears screaming in his ear. He doesn’t know what to do. He panics and all of a sudden he… he… he wakes up. It was all a nightmare. He fell asleep on the dock and his mom was calling him for dinner. He couldn’t believe that he had a dream that vivid and real.

              

Keeping it real

#7 Can you know in three days that you love someone? I believe that you can know that you love someone in three days. I think this because almost everyone says that they know from the second they first met that person.

#2 What are 3 tips you would give parents of teenagers? I would tell the parents that they need to give their teens a little space. Give them room to make their own decisions. Talk to them though and don’t forget to show them that you trust them. I would also tell them that they should try to spend time with them and if they don’t want to make them, they’ll miss out on a lot of things and your relationship with them won’t be as strong. Then another thing, you should try to be more than just a parent. Be a friend to them. Show that you’re more than just rules and that you understand them. You CAN be fun and have a good time and mess around with them.

#27 Are teenagers pretty hard on their parents? I feel like teenagers are a little hard on their parents. They do get over aggressive and don’t take the time to think about the how the parent feels. They will get more of an understanding when they come out of their teen years. I’m starting to see it in myself.

#30 Are you a good bowler? Umm… you know I’m a good bowler.

#29 My vacation home would be in Florida and it would be warm and sunny. I’d be on the beach the whole time. 

Your Future's So Bright

Words of the Future

I learned that you don’t always have to know what to do right out of high school. I also learned that you don’t find something you’re really into in high school. I just want to know what it’s like waiting to be in his shoes, how he dreams of the big time and if he wants to be a well known writer or just wants to write for his kids. In 1 year I’d to be in the marines and getting one on one teaching with them. In 5 years I want to be perfecting my job and be good at what I do. In 10 years I want to be starting a family, with a good job and a nice home. In 50 years I want to be getting ready to retire.

Inspired by Edward Hopper

The Haunted Gas Station

            It’s October 31, 2015, and fall is in the hair in Springfield Missouri. The leaves are falling and it’s a crisp night and Halloween is as creepy as ever. Everyone is getting in the spirit, having parties, trick or treating, haunted houses, scary movies and the works. There is a boy sitting at home though… nothing to do and he’s trying to figure out something amazingly terrifying to do on this spooky night. This boy’s name is Sean, and Sean has been doing Halloween for 18 years of his life and has done it all. He’s tired of lame parties, and he’s too old to trick or treat, so he sits there pondering his decisions… he thinks for several minutes… then he conjures up a great idea. One of the best that he’s had. One that’ll affect his future for a while. This is going to be the night of nights.

            Sean knows of a haunted gas station in

Holltown Missouri. He decides that he will go check it out with his best friend James. James is the same age and has been Sean’s best friend for 8 years. Sean tells the plan to James and he thinks it’s a great plan. They’d go to get something to eat around 9 then head out to Holltown to check out this gas station. The plan so a go and both boys were excited to see what might happen.

            So the boys got ready, got some food and started for Holltown. They were starting to get kind of nervous, but they were alright for now. They were acting out scenarios in the truck on the way there and saying how they were going to be all macho and tough and not scared if they actually do end up seeing something. They were being boys, they were being cocky and very stupid, but they’re boys so it’s okay.

            They pulled off of the highway to some old country road. The road was creepy, totally pitch black behind them and the only light was the head lights in front of them. They were getting more and more anxious. The closer they got the more nervous they got. Sean pulled the truck on to another country road, they suddenly came to an old iron bridge. They crossed slowly, seeing nothing but darkness around them, suspecting to see some figure in the distance.

            After they pulled off of the bridge they saw the gas station. Their hearts were beating out of their chests. It was safe to say that they were scared. They stopped at the front of the station… they sat there, waiting. They weren’t going to get out, it’s too dark for that. It was quiet and there was nothing until… they saw a white fog appear at a window in the front of the station. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing. There palms began to sweat and they couldn’t move and inch. The fog turned into a human figure. The figure was all white and transparent. The figure moved through the wall of the front of the building and started for the truck. The boys still couldn’t move… they tried to move their body but all they could move was their heads. The figure crossed the front of the truck and stared at them the whole time. They saw that the figure was a gas station attendant but lifeless. It reached for the door and moved the handle. The door clattered and didn’t open. The boys were filled with fear.

            All of a sudden they could move, the figure back up a few steps and

Sean jumped for the gear shift, and flung it into drive and made the tires spin and got out of there. The boys talked about it the whole way home, trying to figure out why it let them go and how they even got out of there. They would have a story to tell everyone forever.   

Old Country Roads

Old Country Roads

You stand on the hill and hear nothing. No traffic, no cars, and no people. You just hear the wind blowing past your ear and your boots stepping on and crushing the grass and gravel under you. You smell the fresh air and grass blowing around you. You can feel the tall grass brush against your legs and your hands. You can see clearer than you ever have. There’s no better feeling than the old country roads.

 

Hawks of the Night

 Hawks of the Night

Long night and nowhere to go and nothing to do…

No traffic… no people…

He sees a bright light in the distance, he walks to it.

The light is in the middle of darkness

The light is a diner

The diner has three people in it, he walks in

Three people stare into space, breathing but staring

Not a blink, they just stare

A life less night

Nothing more

Artist Profile: Edward Hopper

Artist Profile: Edward Hopper

            Edward Hopper was born July 22, 1882, in Nyack NY. His father’s name was Garret Hopper, and his mother’s name was Elizabeth Griffiths Smith. Together they owned a dry goods store. He dad one sister who was two years older than he was, Marion Hopper. They lived in the northeast part of the United States.

            After High School Edward attended college and art school. He went to Correspondence School of Illustrating, in New York, then to The New York School of Art, then an Asheen School. While at college he met his wife Josephine Verstille Nivison, Jo for short.

            Edward had gone through several things growing up, such as the WWI and WWII. His life started changing for the better through the Progressive Movement. New inventions and ideas started came around to improve the lives of Americans.

            Edwards’s most famous paintings are Nighthawks, Automat, and Chop Suey. Nighthawks is a New York City diner late at night. The diner has one window looking to the other side of the diner with another window that goes across the whole side of the diner wall, so it’s like looking through to glass walls. There are people sitting inside the diner. House by the Railroad is pretty much what it sounds like. It’s a creepy mansion like house that’s all white by railroad tracks.   

Pillow Writing (revision #3)

I see him for the first time in three years in my dream.

I talked to him and told him how much I missed him,

I tell him how it’s not the same without him here and that I need him back.

It’s painful to see him go again but I know I’ll see him in the next dream.
I will see him again but, it will be in person.
We will stand side by side.

If I were in Charge of The World

If I were in charge of the world there would be no killing and everyone would love each other, there would be no fear and everyone would love each other. There would be no sadness and no death. You could be happy forever and never be lonely. There would be someone for everyone, parents and children would always get along and stay in touch. Families would stay together and be happy. Everyone would get along and the world would be perfect. That’s how the world would be if I was in charge.  

Caged Bird Poem ( revision #1)

I know…

I know why the caged bird sings…

I know...

The bird needs space…

He needs freedom…

He needs life, love and happiness…

The bird needs a life…

He sings because it needs battles…

He needs victories…
The caged bird needs to glide, sore, and fly...
This bird needs an actual life and not a cage...

Color Story

            The BLUE water rippled as the rain fell upon it, and the dark shadows under it had gotten darker. The deep dark sapphire color of the water was beautiful as the majestic bird glided over it. The bird blended in with cloudless sky above it.

            The RED crab walks on the bottom of the sea. It has no destination but it will keep moving, hiding in the colorful sea moss and sea weed. Discreetly crawling around, and watching all that surrounds him.

            The YELLOW boat skids across the water. The boat has a captain, he wears his rain coat and eats a banana. The sun shines down on him with its golden rays and makes his day peaceful. The boat has a duck in the window for a mascot.

            The boat comes to a stop at some GREEN grass. The captain steps out under the trees and walks through the weeds and walks up into his house. The captain is Irish and has shamrocks throughout his house. He waters his plants and sits on his porch and eats his vegetable soup.  

           

 

6 Word Memoir ( revision #2 )

Being home for the holidays...

Famous First and Last Lines

"For a long time, I went to bed early."
Remembrance of Things Past: Swann's Way
By: Marcel Proust born July 10, 1871 in Auteuil-Neuilly-Passy. Died November 18, 1922 in Paris France. He was a french novelist, critic and essayist.
A story about dreams and remembering the past in dreams.

"The old man was dreaming about the lions."
Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea
This book for the people with depression problems.
Ernest Hemingway was born July 21, 1899, Oak Park, IL. He died July 2, 1961, Ketchum, ID.

He was an American novelist, short story writer and Journalist.

Proust 

 Hemingway

Don't quote me on that

“Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Stephen Bush

 “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.” – Friday Night Lights 

 “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein

In The Newspaper

Hiding on the internet

            I found this title to a story in the newspaper. I thought it was interesting. “Hiding on the Internet.” That’s such a strange title for me… how does one hide on the internet? Do they mean hide yourself, or the things you see, or who you talk to? I’m curious to know what that means.

            There are many mysteries with the internet. We don’t know how many things are on there or how much of the world’s data is on there. It blows my mind to think about the enormous amount of information that is out there just sitting, waiting to be seen. There’s almost nothing you can’t find. It’s almost like, anything that was or is, is on the internet somewhere.

            I wonder who would try to hide on the internet though, or what is hiding on the internet. criminals, husbands cheating on their wives, wives cheating on their husbands, hackers, spy’s, anything and anyone could be on there doing god only knows what. If there are so many people on the internet then how would anything be really hidden? We many never know.

            Then there’s the government. They can see everything that we do and hear everything we do. They can see crimes before they even happen. Your laptops can be used to spy on people by the government. You could be sitting at home watching TV while someone is watching you at the same time. I honestly think there’s no privacy on the internet anymore. I don’t really believe that anything could be hidden on the internet.  

             

Memorable Passage

The Underdogs

            “I tied my cleats really tight so they wouldn’t come off when I sprinted.” This is a passage from the book The Underdogs by Mike Lupica. It’s a book about a boy that plays on a smaller team that always gets beat, but the year the kid plays, they’re predicted to be successful. The main character lives with his aunt and uncle because, his parents died. The aunt and uncle are extremely mean to him, making him do chores right after a long day of practice. They just treat him bad. There’s twist though. The kid has a brother who plays for in Cincinnati Bangles in the NFL. He promises that one day the kid will live with him. You’ll have to read the rest to find out what happens. I like the passage above because it reminds me of when I was in middle school playing the same position as the kid and having to do the same things with my cleats. I still have to do it. I just love books that remind me of my childhood. Any book that can bring back childhood memories is a good book. This is a good read, you should look it up. 

Dream Post

            For some reason I only remember almost all of my scary dreams. I can remember some of the good ones and the happy ones, but the freakiest stay with me and I can’t get away from them. Some I have over and over again, and I don’t know why. It’s like I have a file in my head for scary dreams. Even if I don’t want to have them I will, it’s like I can’t shut them off until it gets bad enough in the dream. I wish I knew why this happens all the time.

            I have many scary dreams. It’s not the same all the time, there’s different ones. I still remember them all though and I can have them again and again. I have some about death, some of pain, and some of childhood fears, and things I can’t control. The darkest of dreams get stuck in my mind and don’t leave. I don’t know where I’ve gotten all of these bad dreams, but they become terrible and some I don’t even tell anyone.

            When I was little I always was afraid that someone was going to take me from my mom or kidnap me. I don’t know why but I was deathly afraid of that, and I always have dreams of someone trying to kidnap me when I’m alone, or if my family is asleep and I’m the only one awake, I’ll dream of someone trying to break in and take me, and I can’t wake anyone up. I know it’s a childish dream and funny because I’m the size or bigger than most men, but we all have irrational dreams, don’t we?

            I was also scared of the paranormal when I was younger and I am still unsure if anything of that nature occurs in life or if it’s all just a hoax or if someone is trying to get some sort of attention. I haven’t seen exact proof of anything happening on the side of the paranormal, other than movies and stories I’ve heard from friends and other people. I still don’t know what I should believe at this point though. I often find my mind playing tricks on me in my dreams. I’ll dream that someone is in my room and then ill wake up and see an outline of that person in my room. I also have dreams of my old houses being haunted. When I was little I thought that they were for some reason. Now when I dream about it, it feels so real and it feels like I’m right there for real and that the spirit or whatever it is, is trying to hurt me. I want to find out where these dreams come from, and now that I’ve said all of this I will probably do some research on theses dreams and figure out why I keep having them.  

Dream Threads

Dream Threads

            From the window I watched it cross, from that point I had no control. My body froze and I couldn’t move. The tall black figure moved in the dark, all I saw was a 6’5” shadow moving to the side of the house. I watched it through the curtains as it moved out of my vision to the side of the house. I couldn’t see it anymore and it was dead silent. There was no sound other than the pounding of my heart, about to beat out of my chest. I quickly moved the curtains to cover the window and shuffled to the wall next to window. I was unaware of what would happen next.

            I slowly moved from the wall and stepped with ease across my bed room to the door. I looked to my left and saw my Louisville slugger baseball bat. I grabbed the bat and proceeded to open the door. I stepped out of my room into the darkness. The house was a quiet tomb, as if nothing was even happening. I couldn’t hear a thing. No footsteps, no noise at all. I looked to my right into the darkness and saw nothing, so started walking. I had a feeling of someone watching me, and I was extremely scared of what the figure might have been. I moved forward though and found a place by a window at the front of the house by the front door. I stopped and camped there waiting to see the shadow move past it or see it in the distance in front of the house.

            The quiet was unsettling, I heard nothing, until I heard a tapping at the front door. I walked over to the front door with the bat up, ready to swing. I grabbed the handle and swung open the door. There was nothing there… just the street lit up by the street lights. I turned around thinking it wasn’t anything. As soon as I turned around I saw the tall black figure standing in the walk way in front of the door inside my house! It was just standing there and seemed to be staring at me. I chucked the bat at its head and took off out the door! I turned on the jets as I ran out of my house, through the yard and on to the sidewalk. I was running for my life. I didn’t look back, I just ran. My feet were rough against the sidewalk, as I made my escape. 

           

7 line poem

 Drops of dew on the grass

Do not affect the animal’s peaceful habitat

Like the grass of Irving Heights, the grass is a shade of olive khaki

There’s other shades as well in the grass such as

The foggy green of wellington Heights

The animal wonders around in its elegant courtyard.

The sun shines down in rays through the rainforest canopy.

Acrostic

Huddled up  

On the couch

Nothing to do, no responsibility

Everyone home

Young nights turn into cozy long nights

Cuddling because you can

Apple cinnamon in the air  

Rare moments with family

Appreciated

Mom baking

Everyone

Loves the winter

Disney Paint Chip

Springtime Grass

            You’ve been through fall and winter, and you’re so excited to be outside. Everyone is outside, playing, cleaning, and working. You take a deep breath in and smell this magnificent smell, one of the best smells you could smell, one that brings back memories of your childhood. It reminds you of a simple time, a time of joy and happiness. It’s the smell of fresh cut grass in the spring. There’s almost nothing that can beat this smell. Fresh cut, green, springtime grass is so natural and beautiful, and the aroma is just captivating. I can’t think of a time when I didn’t love that sent. 

The Jersey

Fraser

Creative Writing

Jacob Darrah

August 26, 2015

My First Football Jersey

            It was my first year playing football, and I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to play. My dad and I decided to give it a try, because he was crazy about football and he knew I was athletic because I played basketball and was the tallest and best on my team, not to brag. Football was a totally different sport though, and it was way more physical. I think I was okay with that though, because I’d get called for almost 10 fouls every basketball game I played. I still wasn’t sure what to expect from this intense sport.

            The first practice was in a few days, so my dad and I went to get my pads and jersey. After we got the jersey we went to this place that was notorious for shirt design and we got my last name put on it. I was so excited to see my name on the back of that jersey, I felt like the coolest dude ever. I looked just like the guys on TV with their names on the back of their jerseys. That’s when I started falling in love with this sport and the jersey.

            The first practice came and I was ready to go. I just needed to figure out how to get this little jersey over some really big pads. So when we got to the practice I just had my dad slide it over them. It was kind of like getting a ham through a tube sock. It was tight but we managed to get it done. Now I was ready for the practice, and I was looking stylish. The practice went well and I learned I was naturally good at hitting people.

            The next week we had a game and I was so ready to go show off my skills and have my family watch me do what I was meant to do. So game day came and I had never woke up in such a good mood. I was so excited to wear my jersey to school and let everyone know who I was and what I did. When we showed up at the school I jumped out of the car and flew inside. I walked in feeling like the coolest guy there, I the big man on campus. I thought I saw all the girls looking at me and checking me out, they probably didn’t but that’s okay, because I didn’t care at the time. I was a big bad football player. The whole day I had everyone asking me if I was ready for the game and I’d say “heck yeah!” That was one of my best days of school. The game went good and we won! I was so happy to play good and have my family there to see me and watch me be successful.

            That jersey is way more than just a jersey, it’s a reminder of how much I’ve been through and where I started. It’s a symbol of me and my father bonding and how we spent time together when he was alive. How he was always there to watch me every day and every practice. It’s a symbol of how hard I’ve worked to get here at the high school level, how I’m starting at the high school level. It’s also a symbol of hope because of how far I’ve come and how many spots I have played and working to be my best at those spots. That jersey is my life in one object.