My drama class was taking place in a competition and we were all meeting at another high school for the competition. I got there a few minutes late but that wasn’t a problem. Despite the excitement that I felt about the upcoming competition, I instantly could tell that something was wrong with a friend of mine. She was quiet, which knowing her is strange enough and she wouldn’t talk to anyone. I went all morning wondering what was wrong with her.

But when I did find out what it was, minutes before we were to go on strange, it hit me heavily. A mutual friend of ours had been killed early that same morning, not but ten days after she turned eighteen. It explained everything. But despite the news hitting me, it didn’t sink in just yet. It only really hit me when I was home, checking my Facebook and all my updates were photos of that friend that died.

Then and there I started to cry. The knowledge that she wasn’t coming back slowly creeping into my mind. That it wasn’t a joke, that it wasn’t something that happened to someone else. This was happening to me and my friends and her family. It was something so personal and close that I didn’t know what to feel. How could something like that happen? I had just seen her the day before, heard her laugh the day before.

At her funeral all my friends broke down. No matter how much we said that we wouldn’t cry because we were celebrating her life, it didn’t go but a few minutes into the service that we were all crying our eyes out. This new realization hurt so much that I couldn’t take in anything else but that pain. Even more when I learned that it was a drunk driver that killed her while she was walking home late at night. After refusing to get in the car with a drunk friend. The irony of it all hurt that most. She died doing the right thing.

It’s only been two months since her death and it still hangs in the air between all of us at school, is still a constant thought in all of our minds. Finally coming so close in contact with death taught me that every moment is precious, that no matter what our choices are, there are still unfavorable outcomes and not knowing when these would happen we need to love everyone around us and treasure every moment we have with them. We need to live life to its fullest and in place of those that weren’t suppose to die yet.

Jasmine D.

While her mom was buying some silverware, Radhika’s sister, Pallavi, stole her flip flops and pretended to throw them down a few floors. Then she handed me one and we ran off with them. Considering I’ve never stolen my friend’s shoes before, I was a little clueless as to what I should do with it, so I just tossed it lightly into a nearby kids’ store called Kidz Zone.

However, I seriously misjudged the height of the toss, and the flip flop got stuck on the Kidz Zone sign and knocked down the z in Kidz. Radhika and Pallavi laughed and I was stuck trying to explain to the store clerk what happened, with my best explanation being “It fell……up.” I had a difficult time telling the story not only because I was laughing, but also because it hurt to laugh with my mouth full of stitches.

My friend’s mom had no idea what was going on and wanted to shop in other areas, so Radhika made me give her my shoes so she wouldn’t get in trouble while I tried to get hers back. The manager was yelling at me for being a careless teenager, threatening to charge me for the damage. He wasn’t aware that the z was missing; I hid it in a corner to avoid further trouble. He called the building service’s men and someone came, laughing the entire time while climbing up a ladder to get the shoe. I quickly thanked him and ran out of the area before I received any fines. I went back down to find Radhika, Pallavi, and her mom crying with laughter at the sight of me wearing flip flops too small that had been on a serious journey.

From that day, I learned that destroying a sign in a mall is the best way to recover from painful stiches in the mouth area.

Cvcarnie116

No children were ever more loved even if we lived in tents, we are here for special reasons it is life lessons grandmother teaches. We are here for a gather kin are coming who were scattered,grandmother walks away to a small hill this time I can not follow.

I hear her voice raised in prayer singing softly very old words,even the heart and spirit of a child of four understands this is sacred.

Suddenly all is chaos everyone is running lights are shining in our eyes,a white man in uniform demanding to see everything in our camp.

Someone he said reported wild parties, drugs, and drinking, instead he found us a simple extended family here to learn from the Water. Grandmother stood proudly before this man who sneered at her,head held high she told him we are here for connections to our spirits. You will find no evil things here only love and caring, we sing and drum sending our prayers upon the wind with sage and sweet grass only. They gave us only three days then we must move on, they did not like our kind he said hanging around making messes,we made the good folks nervous.

You people need to live like humans give those children real homes, but not here in our town there are enough here on welfare already.

He could not see or understand our life was the better one, not cramped into a small house but free to share the wind and see Father Sky above us.

To this day I am thankful for the childhood grandmother gave us,we worked hard and asked no one for handouts we lived the way of our ancestors.

No,our path was not an easy one we faced many troubles,yet we lived in freedom proud of who and what we were and learning from all
spirits!

granny!

we “cry” freedom, when in truth we beg for chains