Oceanside 2013

I remember my first time going to the ocean. I was in third grade and we were invited on a trip with our friends. The DeMilles were planning to stay at the a resort for a week and asked if we wanted to join. The place we were staying was right across from the ocean. I couldn’t contain my excitement. When we arrived, the ocean caught me by surprise. Never had I seen such an amazing thing. The waves became my best friend for the next few days until, the day I was dreading came. We had to go home. I broke down in literal tears. This place made me happier than a lottery winner. I was going to miss Oceanside so much. But sure enough, the next morning our things we packed up and we were going home.

About two years later, the DeMilles invited us to come with them again.  I was eager to get back to the sand after being confined in a fifth grade classroom for a few weeks. So one Sunday afternoon we started the long drive down there. When we were about 20 minutes away, Brad DeMille called my mom and told us the reservation had been messed up. You see, how it works is every year the DeMilles have reservations at the resort for one week in September. Apparently, leap year set that week back. At first, we were 90% certain Brad was joking but, sure enough, we were scheduled to come a week after when we did. The resort was nice enough to let us stay in a room for a few days before they moved us into a different resort in Carlsbad.

During the days we were there, we tried to explore the city as much as possible. We stopped by these cute little shops that weren’t too far away from the sea. First, we stopped by the setups outside of a few stores. Then, we found a souvenir store and there we found loads of cute jewelry. Finally, I decided on a ying-yang sign necklace. After that, we went back to the resort.

As you can guess, my absolute favorite part of the trip was the beach. As soon as we got checked in 10 minutes after checking in were were already on the sand and were kicking our feet in the shore. It felt nice to smell the salty air again.  During the time we were there, we had about 4 beach days. We would boogie board, dive in the waves, play in the sand, and look for sand crabs. One of my favorite things about the trip was spending it with my good friend Abbey. She is such a great person to be around and we have so many memories together. After a long day of swimming, we headed to the pier to get some ice cream and fries at Ruby’s Diner. Eventually the sun set and the day ended.

At last, our lovely trip had come to an end. We said goodbye to sunny California and headed back to Saint George. This was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on and I have so many beautiful memories there. The ocean has and always will be one of my favorite places. I hope I’ll be able to go back soon.

Three Year Old Angel

Three Year Old Angel

     I was three years old. It a clear, sunny, perfect day in Autumn. The faint shadows that were now dancing across the floor, enticed the details in the floorboards. The smell of leaves and grass surrounded me. I was still in pajamas that were designed to make me look like a cheetah, even though it was almost lunchtime. The thing that was on the front of my mind was my little sister. We had just found out that she is a girl. She was due any day now and I was excited.

     To begin with, it had all started when my older brother and sister had wanted all of us to do something together. My younger brother and I had just followed along. I had thought that it was a good idea at the time; I was wrong. Well, it started out by happily playing "duck, duck, goose." But very soon after a bubble of tension began to grow in the room when we disagreed on what to play next. When the bubble nearly filled the room, it popped. Now we were fighting instead. 

     Next, I thought about what was going on. It wasn't any arguing, it was intense physical fighting. I did not want to be a part of it. I wanted it to end. I tried to tell my siblings, but nay, they would not listen. I very soon understood that they were too furious to listen. So I gave up, I just walked out the door pausing in the threshold to look upon my siblings in sadness. Then, I just gathered some breath and left. 

     Then, I was back in the very wide, spacious hall. While we had been fighting and playing, the weather had turned sour. The wind let out it's rage upon the peach-colored house. The shadows in comparison from going from dancing a slow, graceful dance upon the floor to jumping furiously from place to place. They had been very weak, now, very bold. I saw things I didn't see before; like the boxes of books in the library because we were moving in just a few months. But to my relief, I soon was very close to the kitchen. 

     Finally, I was near enough to the kitchen to smell my mom's homemade bread that had just come out of the oven that my mom was using to make smooth peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches. I saw my mother pausing once in a while to pat her swollen belly. Often times she would grimace in pain as the baby kicked her from inside of her stomach. At the time, I didn't realise how much pain she was in, but I still had wished to help her get rid of the pain. I walked into my mom's line of sight and then she greeted me with her smile that seemed to brighten the room. I smiled my toothy smile in return. I climbed up onto the stool to help her make the sandwiches. As I did, the noise of my siblings fight faded away as they sheepishly filed into the room at my mother's call of "lunch."  We were all now getting along. It was now perfect in my point of view. 

My time at the beach

I remember the perfect time at the beach with the perfect golden sand squishing between my toes while the ocean wash up it’s perfect treasure of life, water.  I remember running to the waves and riding my plastic, water repellent, wave rider.  I loved the feel of the blue water and the warm sun combined to make it a perfect day.  

First, we ate gourmet sandwiches with honey so golden it looked like gold and tasted as if  it were made of pure goodness.  To start, I grabbed a soda can, popped it open, and took a deep smell of sugar and caffeine.  I remember taking gold fish and feeding the pelicans with their white and grey feathers.  I watched as dolphins swam into view with grey skin and arched backs.

Second, we swam and played like sheep in a pasture, while gulls swooped overhead with their arms flapping as they glided through the air.  Next, we boogy boarded and body boarded.  We jumped waves while we also looked for fish.  We swam in the blue and ran in the sand happy just to be there.

The beach was perfect with all the sun and water and the nearly empty beach that we called “Alcove of Awesomeness.”  Finally, we took naps and read books while talking and laughing.  The joy of being there brings happiness like a rainbow after a storm.  Towards the end, we enjoyed football and soccer but paddle ball was always my favorites.

There was always one down fall of going to the “Alcove of Awesomeness.”  You have to leave at some point or another. Finally after a few farewells and a couple of escape from the car attempts by my brother and I, our journey had come to a close.  Similar to a book, it leaves you yearning for more, hoping beyond hope that sometime you will get to do it again.

                My Perfect Football Game

My perfect football game was my 6th grade championship.Before  that game,Dixie beat us.This was a big blow to us because we had a winning streak of 37-0.A league record.And,we won 4 championships,and we were going to make it 5.

    45 minutes prior to the game,we all met up at a grassy spot to warm up.We all had a b4b t-shirt on because Britton Shipp’s accident was before that game.We all called that game, “The Shipp”.After we warmed up,we drove to the Stadium,walked to the field,and waited for the announcer.Because it was the Championship,my team went out on the fifty-yard line,in number order,and as the announcer called out our names,we would go out of the line and wave to the crowd.Apparently this game was a big deal because people were falling off the bleachers,there was at least 150 people total.

         Then,when both teams were done,4 people went out as captains and flipped a coin.The coin was a golden dollar,very shiny when it was in the suns rays.When that was done they all came back,my team got in a circle,with me in the middle yelling as loud as my vocal cords allowed me to.I yelled like a bear would roar,as loud as I could.As we finished that,the kick-off team went out and Dixie got the ball.After this,it gets pretty hazy,so i’ll sum up the initial game.We make some really good drives,and eventually we score twice.Summing the whole thing up,we won 40-12.

    After the game,we shook hands with Dixie,and talked with our team.After that,basically all the teams parents,friends,and family rushed the field.We took pictures,said hi to the millions of people,and took pictures with our trophy.One little detail I left out is I had an arm band.Now,that sounds really stupid,but the sentimental value of that arm band is eternal life.I know I sound crazy,but it’s just cool how something so little can have such on affect on someone so big.The arm band was white,with black squares in a specific patern that was biggest to smallest,longest to shortest,and was blood stained from a turf burn I had recently got.

So this was my perfect football game.A game I will never forget.One of the funnest games I have ever played,and we were one of the tell-your-kids-your-were-the-best-team-ever-to-play- teams.And,we have all the bragging wrights. #4peat

My Favorite Childhood Memory

Last summer, I was playing in a soccer tournament called, “The Summer Games”, in Cedar City. It is held every summer, and teams across the state come to play in it. My soccer team is called, The Bombers. We won gold in the last season down here in Washington County. Lots of my friends play with me and we are really good, but in the past couple of games, we haven’t done so well because our star wings and a great defender weren’t playing in the tournament. Also, one player had a broken nose, another a broken arm, and another had a pulled hamstring. Because we didn’t do so well, we played for the bronze medal against Guarero (Gwa-re-ro).

The bronze medal game was a very exciting match. It was on a hot, clear sky, and the sun was frying. The field was a very green, rich field with newly painted white  lines, so you could see the field’s boundaries very clearly. Before every game, our team stretches together to help avoid any muscle injuries. I made sure that I stretched better to help be able to play my best. After we stretched, we ran around the field, practiced juggling, and started to warm up. After we warmed up, we went to get some water from our bags. Like a motivational speaker, our coach told us that he was very proud of us throughout the tournament and how we kept pressing on and never giving up. Before we got into our position to start the game, we got in a circle, put our hands in the middle, yelled, “Bombers!” for team spirit. I’m the best at goalie, so I put on my black and yellow goalie gloves, and my long sleeved, yellow, green, and navy blue keeper shirt. When both teams got into their positions, the referee blew his whistle begin the game.

As soon as he blew his whistle, the game was a battle field. The bright, orange ball ran across the field with every kick, both players from both teams set each other up into position when the ball rolled from one side of the field to the other, and names called out to get a pass to them. Even though I didn’t move that much, my heart was racing. I was constantly watching the ball and focusing on the game watching what we could do better. Often, the other team would get the ball and run towards the goal, but our defenders would turn the ball around. About 15 minutes in the game, Guarero got a breakthrough the defence and it was only me versus the player in the green and white uniform. When he entered the box, I started sprinting towards the ball, slid to get it, and missed as the ball sailed over me and into the net. Instead of being sad, I was mad at myself for letting my team down. I promised myself that that would not happen again at all costs. As the game went on, I kept that in my mind especially when they got another breakthrough. There was only one defender to assist me, and he was one of the best, so I trusted that he would get the ball away from the goal. As the ball flew into the air, he tried to bicycle it, but missed the ball as it fell to the ground. Again, it was only me versus him, but this time, I stood my ground right next to the goal. About seven feet away from me, he shot a powerful shot. I watched the bright orange ball sail from his foot to my left, I stretched my hand towards the where the ball went, felt the smooth ball smack against my hand and watched it fly up into the air over the net. The defender was very thankful that I blocked it because he didn’t want the goal to be on him. I got the ball, set it on the corner, and kicked the ball into the air. That was the end of the first half.

During halftime, our coach let us talk amongst ourselves. I shared what I observed while I was goalie. After we talked to each other, coach gave us some words of inspiration, then sent us back onto the field. I was still goalie because it was a close game and we could still win it. When we got back into our positions, the sun beat down on us even harder than the first half making my long, thick goalie shirt make me even hotter. The referee blew his whistle and the chaos began again. At the beginning, navy blue and green players went from standing, to flashing across the field, racing after the ball. Guarero had many shots, but I either blocked them, or they were off target. The game continued like that until about ten minutes before the game ended, when it completely changed. Coach told our team to change formation from defense to offence. About two minutes after he made that call, our striker got a breakthrough and scored! Now the game was a battle field. Later, about 2 minutes until the game ended, we got an amazing shot and scored again making us ahead! The Guarero’s parents were furious and started swearing, yelling, and throwing trash at the referee. Finally, the reff got so impatient and angry, that he blew his whistle and ended the game. The parents were stunned for a moment, and so was I. I didn’t even know he could do that. After a second of silence, we heard our parents screaming with joy. We had won the game!

I ran out of the field and towards our side of the field where the parents were waiting to congratulate us. I got a lot of compliments from the parents for being good at goalie. Finally, after all of the compliments, we went over to the awards ceremony to get our bronze medals. Later that day, while we were waiting to get our medal, we talked and laughed, and had a good time. When I am proud of myself about doing a good job at goalie, I usually leave my goalie shirt on. I left it on during the ceremony even though I was boiling underneath it. When it was finally our turn to get our reward, our entire team got together and went onto the third place podium. At the end, we got our reward last, and it was a bronze, Utah Summer Games medal that was hanging from a silky, blue ribbon that was the perfect size to fit. Throughout the rest of the day, I wore it with pride.

personnel naritive

American Ninja Warrior Training

American Ninja Warrior is a show where contestants must do obstacle courses that tests their strength, agility, and stamina. I would like to be on this show so I train for it. First, when I get home I let my dog outside and we run laps together around the yard. It’s hard to outrun him but that's the point. Then I do high lifts with my calf's. The hardest leg workout I do though is doing park our. Because of the swift motions and big jumps will being chased by my dog Dioji.     

Then we go inside and I do upper body workouts. The first, upper body workout I do is to lift my mom's 15 pound weights. I do shoulder presses, bicep curls, and dumbbell rows but then I switch to lifting chairs, stools, and our heavy recycle bins. Then I do setups, push ups, and pull ups. Then I toss my moms 15 pound weighted yoga ball around as I do this my dog just jumps in front of me and sometimes get’s hit.

Last but not least, I go outside with my dog Dioji. There I do my American Ninja Warrior training on the courses I made to see if I got some improvement. I time myself with my kitchen timer to see if I went faster. The obstacles in my course are to jump over gaps in the garden. Then hang and shimmy of my backyards wall. Then I climb on our shed in the backyard, and I climb up our tether ball pole. Finally, I go inside and have a nutritious snack and that's how I train for American Ninja Warrior in a nutshell.

Drive, Chip, and Putt Sub-Regional

The day started off to the fresh smell of breakfast and the bright light coming from the sun. Me and my family ate pancakes bacon and eggs, then we all got ready by taking a nice hot shower then headed off to the course. When we got to the course I went to go hit with my brother and my dad. I was hitting them really good but I kind of got into a slump but, I kept hitting and got out of it. We went to chip and putt as well. I was putting and chipping like Tiger Woods but, it was time to go to the actual course and start the competition.

First, when we got to the course we went to get my card and check in. It wasn’t quite time to start so, I watched other kids putt and chip to see the brakes. Some of the kids that I watched made it look as easy as pie. After 15 minutes of watching other kids it was time to start. The first thing I had to do was the driving. The guy that was doing that section called my name and where I was from, then my family started clapping. I teed up my ball into the dark green green green the stood above the ball waiting to hit. As I stood above the ball holding to grip tightly my muscles were super tense but the first ball soared into the air and was right down the middle and it went about 180 yards. For one thing, it relieved a lot of pressure. After I waited a minute or so for the wind to calm down I was ready to hit my second drive. When I came down on at the ball on my second shot I kind of came over the top and it didn’t come off the club as pure as I wanted it to but still went 169 yards. The ball kind of looked like a duck getting shot out of the sky. After I hit my second drive I lost a little bit of confidence but I was determined to hit my third drive pure. When I hit the ball it came off the club great and it was hammered. It went about 185 yards right down the middle. After those three drives I totaled up 34 points. I was so excited that I wanted to jump, kick and scream as loud as I could.

Secondly, I had to hit my three chips. When I got up to the first ball I was pretty nervous but when I hit my chip it climbed the grooves of the club and landed about 4 feet from the hole. After stepping behind the ball and looking at my lie and the brake on the green I was ready. When I hit it came off the club good again, and landed close to 3 feet from the hole. I was on fire. After hitting those two good chips I was confident and ready to hit the third chip. This chip didn’t turn out as well as the first two but, it was still good and landed about 6 feet from the cup. When I was done with those three chips I racked up 45 points and I was ready to get to the putting.

Next, I had to hit my three putts. As I walked over to the putting I was self assured that I would at least get 60 points. The first putt was 30 feet long. I was sure that I would get it within within a couple of feet from the hole but, when I hit the putt it came off my putter horrible and I left it 15 feet short. When I got over to the second putt I wasn’t feeling great but I said to myself if I make these last two putts I can still take 1st or 2nd but, that didn’t happen. On the next putt I went through my regular routine and I stepped up to the putt. When I hit it I already knew I ran it 15 feet past the hole without even looking at the ball. When I was done with my second I knew I wouldn’t place so, I just hit my 6 footer without going through my routine or anything. I just got up and hit it and it almost went in. After all of those bad putts, I only got 22 points.

Finally, when I was walking back to the clubhouse I was mad at myself because usually putting is my strongest attribute. When I got back to the clubhouse  I was they had scores posted from other age groups and they had some scores posted in my age group. When I first got my score posted I was in second but then I fell down to 8th place after all the scores were posted. I took 8th place out of 16 kids. I almost got something for chipping but I tied for 4th. All in all I didn’t do that well in the competition but, it was still an amazing experience.

Personal Narrative

Thanksgiving

Have you ever had one of those moments when everything just falls into place and you’re not sure why or how? Well that’s how my thanksgiving went last year.

It all started out an early November morning. My entire family decided to met at my grandma Bobby’s house, My aunts my uncles and my cousins. We all loaded up in the car and headed to California for Thanksgiving.

After a long car ride, we finally arrive to our beach house that my grandma rented out for a few days. As soon as we got into the house you could literally feel the excitement, especially since we’ve rented out the same beach house a few years ago.

After picking out beds, we had to go to the beach. So everyone got suited up and headed for the beach. At the time of day that we went, the waves were nice and big. It was pretty funny to watch all of us fall down as the waves crash down on us and getting crushed into the sand. I think we were out there for hours until we had to call it in for dinner.

The next day we were waken up to screaming children and pounding on the floor above us. After we ate breakfast, my cousins, Hallie and Izzy, and I spotted a door, but had no idea where it lead to. My cousin Hallie decided to open it. Behind the door was an elevator. As smart as we are, We decided to go into to the elevator when no one was looking. But this elevator was different, It had so many buttons. We thought it was a good idea to press all of them and wait and see what would happen. After a lot of button pushing, we got it to work. But it only went down halfway, long story short, we were stuck between floors and didn’t know how to get back up. My cousin Izzy started to freak out and cried in the corner the whole time. After more button pushing, we got it to go back up somehow.

The day after that was Thanksgiving, it was also black friday. Then my mom, aunt, three cousin’s, and I loaded up into the car and went to the outlet malls. As much as I like shopping, I didn’t really enjoy shopping because there were so many people there.

By the time we got back it was only like 10 or so, but even then everyone was gone to the beach. So we did what any normal person would do and also go to the beach.

When we got there, almost every little kid in the family was in the water. So my cousin’s and I grabbed a boogie board and headed for the water. The water was so cold but we didn’t mind because it’s not everyday we get to go to the beach.

It felt like the time melted away because it was already time for dinner. After taking showers, we went upstairs for Thanksgiving dinner. But the turkey was still in the oven. All of the sudden, it smelled as if the biggest fire was in the kitchen. My cousin Grace looks over at the oven and the turkey is on fire. Luckily we got the fire put out and we carried on with Thanksgiving dinner.

My family has a tradition that after Thanksgiving dinner we do something called white elephant. It’s where we are all assigned a person that we have to give a present to. I got my cousin Hallie stuff from Bath and Body Works. My cousin Ava got me some baking stuff. Then we started telling family stories.

The day after Thanksgiving we all decided to just have a free day since it was the day before we had to leave. So everyone headed for the beach to play in the waves. Again, we were getting knocked down by the waves over and over again, but we all loved it.

You can say that my two cousin’s and I are not the smartest people in the world. We got this bright idea to take a raft out on the waves and enjoy the up and down motions of waves. When we finally paddled out far enough, we sat back and relaxed. The first few waves weren’t too impressive, but then this gigantic wave came towards us. All three of us got really excited because it was the wave we were waiting for. But as it got closer, it started getting bigger and bigger till it finally reached it’s peak as soon as it got to us. We started bracing ourselves for impact. When the wave hit us, I went flying out of the raft, but my two cousin’s somehow stayed in it. When I came to the surface my cousin Hallie was helping me get back into the raft. When I was halfway up, cousin Hallie saw that the paddle had fallen out of the raft and was floating to shore. I was still in the water when she was worrying about the paddle. We finally made it back to shore safely, but our entire family was laughing at us.

At sunset, we were all still in the water. All boogie boardin, getting crushed by waves, whatever. My cousin Jordan was standing on the sand-dune waiting for a wave to come by that he could ride when a seal came up right behind him. It was so cool because it was just swimming around us just minding it’s own business. But after like 10 or so minutes it swam away. But about a half an hour after, there was a dolphin that swam right through the wave about 20 yards away. As stupid as I am, I thought it was a shark, so I started swimming as fast as I could towards shore as fast as I could. Then my uncle told me it was a dolphin. I felt like an idiot.

Finally it was time to pack up and leave California. But every good thing has to come to an end. Overall it was another great trip to California. All in all, it was a pretty good Thanksgiving.     

7th Grade Personal Narrative

Conquering a Fear

To begin with, my entire life I have had a fear of diving boards. Even when I stepped on one a chill would shoot through my body leaving me feeling nauseous. My brother would start teasing me saying if I did not jump he would come throw me in. He didn’t mean it in a rude way. He just wanted me to jump. Wasn’t jumping off the side of the pool already enough. When I would even jump into the water I felt as if my body was slowly sinking instead of floating back up. The diving board was just so cold that it made me wish I was back in the warm refreshing water. I never favored swimming anyways. The chlorine stung my eyes. And when you accidentally swallowed some of the water it made you feel sick. I mean why would it matter if I couldn’t jump off a diving board?

To start, I got to go boating at Quail Lake with my siblings. The feeling of the breeze on my face was just so comforting. It felt like I was under a ceiling fan on a one hundred degree day. It was even better when we would stop along the sides and go for a swim. The water was just so cool. My brother found a tall rock that everyone could jump off of. It made me feel a little jealous that everybody could jump off of it but me. Even my younger sister could jump off of it. A little while later, I had been able to stir up enough courage to get out of the water and step onto the sandy rocks. The sandy rocks lead up to the really tall rock that everyone was jumping off of. I waited quietly until everyone had gone.

I then walked to the peak of the rock and stood there debating whether I should take the jump or just walk back down to the water. Meanwhile, my sister was cheering me on, telling me I could do it. I sat down on the peak for a minute ignoring my sister who was cheering me on. I wasn’t entirely focusing on her voice but I did hear her telling me to get up. I lifted up my legs from the edge of the rock, avoiding any chance of slipping off the edge and falling into the water. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes telling myself I could do this. Then I sat back down.

You could imagine that my sister was starting to get very ticked off with me. I knew she was. I decided a few seconds later that I was being a wimp. I stood back up. And I counted down from ten. When got to one I hesitated. A few seconds after that, I just jumped, took a leap of faith. For the few seconds I was in the air I was so many things. For one I was afraid my life was in danger. I was brave, nervous, and dry. Within a few seconds two of those four things changed. As the water started covering my body, I didn’t know what I was so afraid of. It was too easy.

When my head popped out of the water, I was proud of myself. This rock was almost three times bigger than the average diving board. My sister looked happy with me, unlike when I was sitting up there staring into the water like it was my doom. At the end, I was glad she wasn’t angry with me. If I was in her position I would have been so annoyed with her. Just because I would have to wait that long. She probably felt the same way. If she did, she did a wonderful job hiding it. A few minutes later we all swam back to the boat and enjoyed the rest of the day on the lake. In conclusion, I was able to get over one of my fears.

It all began when we were at Disneyland, on a beautiful, California afternoon. The sun shone down on us, warming the place to the perfect temperature. Shade from trees and rollercoasters around us dappled the ground at my feet. I was barely 7 at the time, and it was my first time going to Disneyland. We’d just taken a fairy to get to the other half, and I was having fun talking to my dad about what had been happening. As we approached a restroom and a roller coaster, rocks began surrounding us, adding to the shade.

I was just under four feet, barely tall enough to ride anything 48 inches with the help of my very thick inch-high shoes. My dad, however, was 5 foot 6 inches. Now imagine a rock, likely just taller than my dad, hanging down over you as you walked under it. A tiny sharp corner of it swooped dangerously low, but my dad was so observed, so interested in me, he didn’t notice this situation, so we walked just under it. The ledge happened to be just low enough to cut across my dad’s head.

To start with, my dad wasn’t sure it had cut him. He just ducked down and winced in pain. It wasn’t until he brought his hand to his head and it came down dark red did we realize something was wrong. Let me tell you, as a 7-year-old, I really didn’t understand the situation. All I understood was my dad was sitting outside the restrooms, holding paper towels to his head, and they were gradually becoming red. My 9-year-old sister, Kira, brought more and more out, tears streaming down her face like a waterfall. I’m sure my mom tried her best to distract me, which is why I hardly remember the situation, but I just remember it was scary, and I remember the Disneyland workers coming to help him, and telling him he could go to the hospital to get it checked out. Luckily though, the cut wasn’t very big, so we were able to continue with our trip. After the employees made a fuss over him, we were finally able to enjoy the rest of our trip.

It wasn’t until about January, before my birthday, that something happened. My mom had thought when we were at the park before, Disneyland would offer us something like speedpasses for the rest of the day, since the injury was due to poor safety measures, but we got nothing. On that cold day of winter, however, something did happen. I remember hearing Kira let out a giant scream as I played with my Littlest Pet Shops in the playroom. In record speed, Kira darted up the stairs and burst into the playroom, and all I heard was, “WE’RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!” I screamed with her. Apparently, Disneyland had sent a letter in the mail, giving the six members of my family free passes to Disneyland, along with speedpasses! My dad, who was outside, was currently unaware, so as a family, we ran outside into the backyard, screaming at him and thanking him for getting injured at Disneyland.

Later in the summer, we made our second trip to Disneyland, and it was better than the first. It’s so much more fun to just walk straight to the front of the line rather than wait in it. The whole trip, we made jokes about who was going to crack their head open this time, but it was such a cool experience, and this time, I didn’t have to wear those inch-thick heels on every ride! One of the most notable things, however, was when we took the ferry and walked down the path, where the rock had been, and there was an empty space where before, it had sat. Disneyland had removed it to prevent the incident. At last, we ended our trip with no harm done and our whole family safe.

Elle Horrocks

Period 6

The WORST Soccer Tryout Ever

I groaned when the ball passed to me went in between my legs and rolled across the field. Had I seriously missed the ball again? I sighed in frustration and ran to get the ball for the fifth time.

Last summer, I decided that I wanted to tryout for a competitive soccer team. Although I’ve always loved soccer, I’ve never actually had the chance to tryout for a team. After a few days, my mom told me she had found tryouts for a team in my age group. I was extremely ready and excited for tryouts. It couldn’t be that hard to tryout for a team of a sport I played everyday anyway right? Nope, apparently not.

First of all, What When the big day finally rolled around, I was pretty confident. Although it was my first time, I thought I knew what I was getting into. What I didn’t know was that there were people trying out for different age groups so basically I was the smallest one there. -this isn’t necessarily the rarest thing to happen, but it still kinda sucks.-  What I thought it was going to be like was way off. I expected it to be a gathering of people my age doing some simple drills, playing some small games, talking about required skills, easy stuff like that. Little did I know that when I arrived I would experience basically the highest level of disappointment. When I came into the field, I was shocked to see around 150 people standing on a field talking to all the people they knew and passing balls around. It was at this time I realised with there being so many people, I would most likely know someone. I smiled and waved goodbye to my mom as I picked up a ball and ran out onto the field. Sadly, after a few minutes of searching I was faced with the horrible truth that I knew no one and everyone was at least 4 years older than me. I always encounter people that are taller than me, but they towered over me. I honestly thought there might be a small possibility that I would get squished or something if I stood too close.

After trying every other stood alone trying to juggle the ball and ultimately failed at every attempt made, when the coaches finally arrived. Although I was sweating, about to die of heat, and I couldn’t see a point in continuing, I decided to do what everyone else was doing and hurry over to the spot where we were meeting. After he had called us over and we had had a small chat about what we would be doing, I was ready. It all sounded so simple! I let out a sigh of relief and followed the rest of the group to the other side of the field. Around 30 minutes later, I had lost count of how many times I had attempted and failed at a drill. After what felt like forever, the coach finally announced that we could head off field to grab a drink. Not to brag or anything, but I’m pretty sure I was the fastest one off the field.

After a few hours of trying and failing, the couches finally announced we could leave. I hurriedly grabbed my bag and got out of that place as soon as humanly possible. I then jumped in the car, and went home where I would spend the rest of my summer day doing absolutely nothing. The next day I found I had to go to another part of tryouts. Another part! I already knew I wasn’t getting onto the team in the first place, so why should I waste my energy for this?  

After the two days of tryouts were over, we never received an email from the coaches, saying I got put onto a team. I was devastated. I did all that exercise for nothing. After an even longer period of time, my mom received an email from the coaches. Had I gotten placed onto a team? Probably not. I did so bad the only reason why I would have gotten on is out of pity for me. Maybe there was an extra place on the team?

Somehow all my guesses were wrong. Can you guess what happened? If you think that I got placed on the team, you are unfortunately mistaken. What actually happened was I was the only person that tried out in my age group and I did all that work for nothing. Kind of.

Finally, though, I could have that feeling of having nothing to do and just sleeping and eating all day. Like the ending to every good story, something positive came out of that. One, I realised I would need some serious practice if I ever wanted to do anything with soccer, and two I know what to expect for next time. Hopefully, I will be as tall as -if not taller than- most of my friends and I will be normal seized for next time. (if there even is a next time..)