Essays

Look at these two schoolgirls on their way to the car to be dropped off at Elementary and Middle schools. Aren't they smart looking young ladies? You can read and judge for yourself. Here are some recent writings by each of them. Enjoy :)

10/10/06

The Bug

by Rachel

I never thought I’d eat a bug. And I definitely didn’t think I’d eat a cricket. But, unfortunately, my sisters can convince anyone.
The last day of fifth grade one of the parent helpers had brought in a box of Hotlix Lollipops, lollipops with either a larvae or a cricket inside. Picking an orange flavored one, and certainly not planning to eat it, I brought it home. When I arrived at my house, I showed it to my sisters and hid it somewhere. My sisters bugged me. And then they pleaded with me. They bothered me until I finally gave in. I would eat it in September. Then the day finally came.
I was unwilling and nervous. Even though I didn’t want to, I couldn’t get away with it now. All my sisters, my brother, and my mom were watching. Laying it in the water filled sink, I waited for the candy to dissolve. Not wanting to be sucking on candy for the next half hour, I left it there. When all that remained was a water soaked bug, I ate it. It was stringy, and chewy, and leggy, and very gross. I was disgusted. But a cricket isn’t the only kind of bug.
When my Aunt Stephanie heard of that disastrous day, she sent a package with Spicy Larvets, spicy fried larvae made by the same company. Those were better. Everyone except Summer tried some. Although Heather almost spit them out, Michael was stuffing handfuls in his mouth and Gwen was begging for more. Other people in my family liked them.
I learned that you should try even the worst looking food before you determine the flavor, and to some people (like my brother) the worst looking food can taste good. That time will always be remembered. It is embedded in my mind like that cricket was embedded in the lollipop that day in September.

Oct.12, 2006

The Longest Run

by Summer

I never expected to jog two miles before high school, not to mention a whole three point two! Life is full of surprises however. One spring morning, I found myself standing nervously next to my mom on the starting line of a five kilometer Fun Run. In college, my mom couldn’t even run a mile without stopping, so she was as surprised to be there as I was. During the summer of 2005, we both wanted to improve our running, so we ran in our back yard around a dirt track about twice a week. Throughout the school year, as I ran during P.E., she continued to run at home early in the morning and improve her distance and speed. Even with this effort, the most I had ever run without stopping was a mile and a half and my mom had gone two miles. I admired her consistency in jogging and how much she had improved. When our church sponsored a Fun Run and she got excited about giving it a try, I was inspired to run the five kilometers with her.
At eight o’clock one sunny, March morning, our whole family drove to a church building in Woodcrest. While my mom and I nervously walked up to the starting line, my younger siblings played on the grass and my dad supervised them. We were handed a map of the route and were told that the run was winding and hilly. Soon, more and more people assembled at the start with us. Some had bikes, some had kids in strollers and some, like us, were jogging.
“On your marks, get set, go!” someone shouted and we set off. Quickly, the crowd dispersed, some running at the front, some walking in the back and some, including us, jogging in the middle. Although my mom could probably have jogged faster, she stayed with me all the way. Along the route, we passed tree shaded streets, skate boarders, and a house that was built to
look like a small medieval castle. As we went on, we became weary. Eventually, we saw the finish line and all the runners who had arrived before us. Triumphantly, we passed it and went to find out our time.
Although we were slow, at forty two minutes and sixteen seconds, we were glad we did it and jogged the whole way. Afterwards, we drank some water and ate oranges while we waited for the last people to come in. In the car, we talked about it and planned to jog again at the next church Fun Run. This showed me that if I tried, I could jog, what was for me, a long way.
As we exhaustedly pushed ourselves over the finish line, I will always remember how my dad congratulated us and my mom proudly told him we had jogged the entire way. I was thankful my mom inspired me to jog with her. My mom and I got to be together and become better friends. The run showed me I could jog a greater distance than I expected and inspired me to improve my time on shorter runs. I am excited for the next 5K Fun Run in March and I hope my mom can run with me!