writing as a gift

I wrote my letter to my uncle.

Food post

It was thanksgiving day and i was so excited to see my family, and especially for all the good food. I like to spend time with my family, but my real passion is cars. I just turned 18 and i finally got the car of my dreams. It may be a project but its my project. I was able to purchase a 1994 Toyota Supra for just under $20,000. Which for that car, is a pretty decent price. So whats so important about my car and thanksgiving? Let me just tell you that my family knows how i am about cars and how obsessed i am with them, so this was the day i got to unveil my baby. I had to drive about an hour to my grandparents place, where we always have our family gatherings. I rolled up with my car, and my bike on top, because i mean, i always gotta have my bike for riding off the meal. But anyway, i pulled up and revved the engine for them to hear me from the inside just to screw around, my parents were the last ones out as they have already seen the car. But my whole family poured out of the house because i was being annoying about trying to get them outside to look at my car. They were all pretty impressed with the amount of work i put into the car. They had a great time looking around the car though most didn't know much about what i was saying about it. But i didn't care, i was proud of myself. So that night we spent with family, talking eating, reminiscing about stories from the past and just having an all around good time. We ate all the food that we had on our plates and then went out for a late night easy 15 mile ride. We all absolutely love night rides because of how different it is riding at night. Yeah, there were a couple of crashes. But that's part of the ride. It was all great up until i woke up. I woke up and realized that this was all a dream. Man was i mad. But it was still thanksgiving and it was a thanksgiving i'll never forget. Stupid dreams. Playing tricks on me, that one was just mean.

Revision #3

The passage that I remember reading was probably the quote stating “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will” That quote has become my motto. It’s extremely important to me because I am someone who has allot of doubt in my abilities. Probably more than I should. But I now have this quote plastered everywhere. And this has really helped me become more confident. I am able to give myself the credit that I should and I am very thankful that I found this quote. This quote didn’t come from a book, it came from a magazine I read allot. It’s a bike magazine and the name escapes me at this time. But I think that this quote had played a large role in who I am today. My successes in the sports I compete in. And even the grades that I earn. I largely accredit it all to this one little quote. I don’t really know why it has such a positive impact on my life. But without this quote I wouldn’t have such a high confidence level, a positive attitude, and free spirit. Though I think maybe maturity is something lacking from my life, I don’t care, I prefer fun over boring stuff.

I like quotes, they inspire me to push myself, and to be better at everything i do. That quote i've already talked about has had a huge impact on how i push myself, but i also have another one that plays such an important role. The quote is “Our fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.” I know its kind of long, kind of more that a quote should be in the eyes of some. Its probably a little too long to put on a picture for a phone background. But it has more meaning than it seems. One needs to realize that we have the potential for anything. We can do anything we want. But what happens when we do achieve that goal? We are now without a goal. And we may not know how to use the success we have just gained. So we then fear we are different, or weird in some way. But i love this quote because it gives new insight into our real fears. Which may even be a fear of success. I don't know. That's my interpretation. Probably not how everyone else sees it. But i like the quote and that is my view.

Revision #2

Driving down the road, out of nowhere she came. I was terrified, worried if she were going to hurt me. But I proceeded to stop and ask if she was okay. Before I could even finish she jumped into the back and begged me to drive as far away from this spot as I could. I was a bit worried but more for her than myself because she seemed petrified of something or maybe even someone. So I did as I was asked, I drove. After about an hour of silence with a stranger in the back of my cab I asked,

“Miss, are you okay?”

“I am now.” She replied short and quick

Unsure how to keep things going I went ahead and asked “What’s your name?”

“Rebecca” she mumbled

“I’m James” I returned

We went on talking for a little while, she told me what had happened to her and why she was so scared. She said that some friends of hers, as well as herself went down to Cancun for a vacation, and they met a few guys down there that seemed really friendly. So rather than staying in their hotel they decided to go stay with these guys. I thought I sounded like a dumb idea when she told me but I remember being in my twenties as well, so I kept my mouth shut. Rebecca was a pretty girl and couldn’t have been a day over 23 so I figured I probably shouldn’t act like a parent after all she has had to deal with. So I just let her go on. She said her and her friends went down there to celebrate her friend Jessica’s 21st birthday. She went on to explain that after about a week of staying with them she starting dating one of the men. She said he told her his name was Matt, and that at first she was practically in love with him. He showered her with affection and gifts for not only her, but her friends as well. They all were supposedly staying at Matt’s mansion. She explained it to be extravagant, large towers and a huge pool that her and her friends were at daily. But she said that after about 3 months Matt began to act strange. Lots of late night hours as a construction worker, she said some nights he wouldn’t even come home. She wasn’t really upset just curious but didn’t give it much of a second thought. Until one day Matt brought his “clients” home, and that’s when she realized things probably weren’t going to be good. These men took her friends and beat them repeatedly. She yelled for them to stop and they did, they shot her friends right in front of her. Then they ran for her, she bolted. Still in her bikini as they had just came from the pool she ran as fast as she could, but then she tells me that all she remembers from then on is waking up in what she describes as a cage, where she says she was for what likely seems like forever. She was supposed to be sold into the sex trade. But she says that one night they left the key close enough to where she could reach. And now she was with me.

“That’s all I remember” I told the officer.

“Thank you for your help” he said as he turned to leave

“Wait!!” I exclaimed

“Yes?” he replied

“Is she okay”

He looked at the other officer and told me the worst news imaginable

“No, she didn’t make it. I’m sorry son”

I then rolled over and proceeded to cry.

The men I thought I was helping her escape from rammed our car and caused us to roll. Ejecting Rebecca from the car resulting in this young lady who had nearly escaped impossible odds to lose her life.

I remember this day as if it were today. I still get a feeling of fear every time i remember this night. It has been nearly 5 years since the incident. I have since moved far far away. Im now in Colorado, living with some close friends i grew up with, just until i am able to get enough money saved up to get my own place. I still fly back and visit her grave every year, i can't help but feeling like a failure for letting this happen to her.  I dont even want to remember this, but i feel that it is my fault, so there is no forgetting it.  Nobody other than the police and myself know what happened to the girl. She was a traveler who ended up in a really crappy situation. I made it my mission to find her family and apologizing for my failures. So after months of looking for her family, I finally found them in a small town in idaho. It took me nearly a month to work up the courage to tell talk to them about what had happened and when i told them, they thanked me. I was totally thrown off guard. They told me that they were so thankful for the fact that i “risked my life to save hers” when i just wanted to make sure a scared girl had somebody on her side. I would want someone to do that for my daughter if needed. I later became good friends with her family and i go to visit with them sometimes and that helps to repress my feelings of failure. But they will always be there.

R.I.P. Rebecca

I'm sorry..

Revision #1

As a child in a small town there wasn’t much of anything to do. We had one bowling alley, which my friends and I spent most of our allowance at. But when we ran out of money we had other ways of entertaining ourselves. We would do the typical dumb stuff kids do, we threw rocks at bee’s nests, went and looked for snakes and lizards and such. But the one thing we did that not many others did was, we would spend a lot of time at this red box car that was pushed off to the side. We would pretend that it was a castle and those who were not inside were those attacking the castle. We would play at this all day when we had no money, and even for a while when we did. But one day, we left the bowling alley and went to the box car to find a furry tail hanging out of the car. Being stupid and irrational we went to go and investigate what had taken over our castle. We soon found an injured wolf, it seemed like it had a cut leg or something of that nature because of the blood dried up on its outer thigh. We lived between a couple mountain ranges and had always heard that there were wolves but never had seen any until this moment. There was five of us and one of her, we knew it was a her for the obvious reasons, but we figured we didn’t have to out run the wolf, just the slowest of the group. So after a while of staring from a distance, I had the bright idea to go up and pet her. Everyone was calling dibs on my stuff as I was walking thinking that was the last of me. But when I got up there, the wolf seemed to be more scared than I was. So I moved slowly to let her calm down, and once she seemed calm I held out my left hand for her to sniff. Much like one would do with a dog, I’m right handed so I figured that my left hand wasn’t that important. And to my surprise, the wolf behaved much like any dog would, she sniffed my hand and realized I was no threat and returned to how she was laying as she allowed me to stroke her fur. Knowing she wasn’t going to kill anyone everyone else came and pet her much like I did. Everyone then began heading home, one after another. To where it soon was me and this lone wolf, as I was thinking of leaving she stood up and turned to where she was right next to me. I then knew that since she now had no pack, she was asking for my companionship. She stayed in that car for nearly a year, me visiting for hours every day to see how she was healing. Even after she was back to how shee had been she stayed. I didn’t know why but I was okay with it. I had never had a dog, and now I had a wolf. How cool was that? I remember as if it were yesterday, I came back one day to an empty box car. At first I thought maybe something was wrong, and then realized that she was a wild animal. She had to be wild, even if I felt like we had bonded as our own pack. But I soon just let it go and went on about my days, not knowing what happened to my friend. I moved on with life, went through middle school, went to high school, got my car, met the girl of my dreams, and then found out what happened to my old friend. July 24th 1977, I went to that box car before leaving for college. To find a wolf sitting and looking outside the car, I knew it was her but was worried she was unaware of who I am. As I approached she scurried off into the brush for a moment. She then returned with a pup in her mouth. She came over to me and set it down at my feet. My girlfriend was back in the car, staring with amazement when I went to retrieve her. I brought her forward and said “this is an old friend and her new family” my girlfriend was terrified but I reassured her not to worry. I had her hold out her hand and allow my friend to smell. The wolf reacted by putting her head under the hand allowing my girlfriend to feel her soft fur as I pet the pup. Hours passed and the sun began to set, I figured it was best to go and let the wild stay wild. So I grabbed the hand of my girlfriend and we walked to the car as my friend grabbed her pup and moved off, turning back to exchange on last glance as we moved off and went our separate ways

WIth this i am looking for memories. My father wrote this story for me and my siblings all to read. My father was a great man, he used to tell us all the stories of his youth. None of these stories had facinated me more that the story of my father and this fabled wolf in the box car. My father passed away about 4 years ago and for quite a while, i refused to believe he was actually gone. I would visit his grave and talk as if i were having a conversation with my father. But when it finally did hit me, i was mortified and angry at the fact he was gone. You see, my father died in an accident involving a semi driver who fell asleep at the wheel. I have forgiven the man since, but still miss my father daily. So one day i decided that i would go to where my father had met this mysterious wolf. I boarded a plane and flew to the small town my father grew up in and went to the house he had lived in. It wasn't a large house, but it was one that could comfortably fit a family. after a while of walking i reached the box car, it looked somewhat rickety and old, but it had been there a while and that was expected. I went and sat down on the edge of the box car, and just looked out into the woods thinking of the memories my father had made there with a wolf that seemed to have nobody. It was all alone, much like i was. I sat for a while looking around the box car, and that's when i noticed it. My father had left his handprint on the floor, but it wasn't alone, it seems as though he had done the same with the wolf's paw. Enamored, i stared and was amazed at how two of a completely different species could get along so well. after a few hours i left and started back to my hotel. im thankful to have had a dad like mine and im thankful he gave me this memory that i will hold forever. I miss you dad..

This is...

 
This is my best friend
with his red hoodie
his front billed hat
this is my person
he takes care of me
we have no home
no money
but we have each other
we have a bond
one that no others know


This is true human nature
we give to some that have nothing
but even when we have nothing
we have a companion.
This is love
This is compassion

Photos from the 2000s

I remember when this happened. I remember my teacher at the time talked to use about how there were 33 or so Chilean miners who ended up trapped down in their mine. I didn't really think they would be in there that ling i figured that they would be out in a day or so. Little did i know that it would be much longer. I remember looking at how long they had been in the mine online when it was going on. It was a really sad deal having all these miners being stuck down there. I felt so sorry for the families who were unsure whether or not they would ever see their loved one again. I remember reading about them being able to get food and water down to them but not being able to get them out because of the mine having caved in on itself. I cannot imagine the fear the the minors must have felt when the realized that they were trapped down in the mine and that there was no way out. The fear about never being able to be with family or see friends again. I remember the day that all of the men made it out. Everyone was so hyped and happy, i even remember watching them get out on the news. And now there is even a movie coming our that's is either about this event itself or it is about an event that is closes to this one. I read that it should be a really good and heartwarming movie somewhere. I don't exactly remember where but i am excited for this movie

Photo post

The picture reflects our feelings. Our fear runs deep and our fear will never disappear. The picture was after the death of my brother. He was 23 and the guy was my role model. We fought, we didn’t always get along, but hey. We were brothers, and that’s what actually mattered. It was October of 1909 and we had just made a homestead as a family. It was raw untouched wilderness, meaning we weren’t the only ones to inhabit the land. There were many predators on the land, bears, cougars, bobcat, lynx, and we were all aware of where they lived, and hunted. But within a matter of months, they started to move closer and closer to our home, bringing a large uneasiness upon the family. Brian, my brother, was the only one who didn’t live in the house with us. He was 20 when we moved there so we figured he’d be fine off on his own. He lived about a mile from the main house in a little teepee until he was able to finish his own cabin. The teepee was actually pretty impressive, he made it from some trees he cut down and a big buffalo hide. He killed a huge buffalo the week we moved to the new land and split the meat between him and the rest of us. Which he really didn’t have to do. But with his house nearing completion he spent his last night in the teepee. And by last, it was both his last night before he would finish the teepee, and his last night on earth for that was the night the bear took his life. The next morning I was first awake and went to check if he needed help. So yes, I was the one to find my brother, mauled beyond recognition with the bear still on top of him. I rushed home in terror, sobbing and angry. I reached the house when I realized the bear could not live, having killed my best friend. I grabbed my rifle and returned to my brother’s side. I took aim at the bear as he walked off. Tears in my eyes, I fired. I shot more times than I thought. And more than necessary.  For when I came to my senses, the first shot killed the bear, but I fired every shot from my gun. I then crawled to my brother, told him I was sorry I was no help, I then curled in a ball and sobbed until my father found me in a puddle of tears. 

Photo hunt

  Okay so some of my pictures will not load so this is what i got for an odd angle because its pretty weird
 This is something from nature. I found this tree to be really really cool because of how it branched off into other trees
 This is my something beautiful. I absolutely love hot cheetos. They taste absolutely amazing to me.
 This will always remind me of kickapoo because it took forever for them to finish the stinking thing. But now that its done. its pretty cool.
 This is for something circular or round. The clock here never works. I think that this year is the first year that i remember it working and being somewhat near the actual time.
 I







This is a hand written thing that i found on the ground in the hall. I fould this little piece of fake lettuce to put with it because trutles eat lettuce







This is for somebody i like to be more like because this kid is always hyper and full of energy and i wish i was that way







This is my friend who has helped me learn about cars and how to fix them. This kid is pretty cool for doing that because without his help i would've been screwed







This person has always made me laugh in class. she always cracks jokes and makes funny remarks that help lift everyone's spirits

I had some more pictures but they wouldn't load
One picture i had was of the boys restroom sign in the student center for something square. I picked that because it was right there and i remember when the bathroom over there was nonexistent.

The picture that i had for something that annoys me was the no refunds sign on the vending machines. I cannot stand that because its not our faults that the vending machines are junk.

I chose my English teachers room sign for something nostalgic because that has been my favorite class i have taken ever so far.

I do not have the paper in front of me so i have no idea what else i am missing. I hope this doesn't affect me due to the technological errors.

Sometimes there's no such thing as winning

 Driving down the road, out of nowhere she came. I was terrified, worried if she were going to hurt me. But I proceeded to stop and ask if she was okay. Before I could even finish she jumped into the back and begged me to drive as far away from this spot as I could. I was a bit worried but more for her than myself because she seemed petrified of something or maybe even someone. So I did as I was asked, I drove. After about an hour of silence with a stranger in the back of my cab I asked,

“Miss, are you okay?”

“I am now.” She replied short and quick

Unsure how to keep things going I went ahead and asked “What’s your name?”

“Rebecca” she mumbled

“I’m James” I returned

We went on talking for a little while, she told me what had happened to her and why she was so scared. She said that some friends of hers, as well as herself went down to Cancun for a vacation, and they met a few guys down there that seemed really friendly. So rather than staying in their hotel they decided to go stay with these guys. I thought I sounded like a dumb idea when she told me but I remember being in my twenties as well, so I kept my mouth shut. Rebecca was a pretty girl and couldn’t have been a day over 23 so I figured I probably shouldn’t act like a parent after all she has had to deal with. So I just let her go on. She said her and her friends went down there to celebrate her friend Jessica’s 21^st birthday. She went on to explain that after about a week of staying with them she starting dating one of the men. She said he told her his name was Matt, and that at first she was practically in love with him. He showered her with affection and gifts for not only her, but her friends as well. They all were supposedly staying at Matt’s mansion. She explained it to be extravagant, large towers and a huge pool that her and her friends were at daily. But she said that after about 3 months Matt began to act strange. Lots of late night hours as a construction worker, she said some nights he wouldn’t even come home. She wasn’t really upset just curious but didn’t give it much of a second thought. Until one day Matt brought his “clients” home, and that’s when she realized things probably weren’t going to be good. These men took her friends and beat them repeatedly. She yelled for them to stop and they did, they shot her friends right in front of her. Then they ran for her, she bolted. Still in her bikini as they had just came from the pool she ran as fast as she could, but then she tells me that all she remembers from then on is waking up in what she describes as a cage, where she says she was for what likely seems like forever. She was supposed to be sold into the sex trade. But she says that one night they left the key close enough to where she could reach. And now she was with me.

“That’s all I remember” I told the officer.

“Thank you for your help” he said as he turned to leave

“Wait!!” I exclaimed

“Yes?” he replied

“Is she okay”

He looked at the other officer and told me the worst news imaginable

“No, she didn’t make it. I’m sorry son”

I then rolled over and proceeded to cry.

The men I thought I was helping her escape from rammed our car and caused us to roll. Ejecting Rebecca from the car resulting in this young lady who had nearly escaped impossible odds to lose her life. 

Halloween

As I looked at the Jack-o-Lantern, it seemed to be looking back at me. Then I walked up next to it to get to the door for my candy.  As I was walking back to the street, I found out that the Jack-o-Lantern was the head of a person’s costume as the proceeded to jump up to scare me. When they jumped out, I instinctually kicked the man in his nuts as I was so scared I literally pooped my pants. Whilst the man was doubled over in pain due to a full force kick to the nut sac from a 9 year old, I ran a mile and a half back to the house to change my underwear. I then left the house and found my parents, whom I had left in the dust to go home and change, I then was given a lecture about how If I’m going to get scared to the point at which it causes bodily harm to others, I am no longer allowed to trick or treat. Which as a 9 year old made me cry my eyes out at the fear or no more free candy. So once the lecture was done my parents told me that I was allowed to go back and even go with only my friends. Looking back at the day my parents probably just didn’t want to have to explain themselves to someone else I beat up out of fear.

So after about two more hours of trick or treating we finished up and returned to a friend’s house to watch movies and drink hot chocolate while we trade our candy to others for different types for our favorite types. It was probably 2 in the morning when we decided to go toilet paper this girl down the streets house. So we took all of the toilet paper from his house and put it in backpacks and had his brother drive us just in case we got caught. He even bought us eggs and was willing to show us how to toilet paper. So we got there and messed the tree with toilet paper and even got a couple good shots across the roof. After maybe 20 minutes of throwing toilet paper we were about out of it, so we took the last bit and put it around their car and we were going to spray it with the hose once we were done. So after we were out of toilet paper my friend’s brother brought out the eggs. We were all so excited we could hardly contain ourselves. We hit the garage and some other areas of the house until we were down to the last two. And I was given the honor of throwing the last two. And for the last one we decided to hit the girl as she opened the door. She was around 16 so we didn’t feel too bad because she was always trying to make us think she was going to run us over. So we rang the doorbell, and as soon as the door opened I launched the last of our eggs before looking at the person I was about to nail. Once I opened my eyes, I realized we were screwed. It was my freaking mom. We got the addresses switched and my mom was at her friends for a party. Needless to say, I was grounded until the next Halloween.

Keeping it real

 17. My perfect day would probably entail spending my day down in Arkansas with my family and spend the whole day riding and skating. I love spending the day in Arkansas, because it’s so much more fun than down here and has so much more to do.

11. As a kid we spent allot of time outside. And more than half of that time we spent playing hide and seek. So I’m pretty okay at playing hide and seek. We used leave the screen porch of one of our friends house unlocked so that we could hide in there and lock the door again so that nobody else could get in and pretty much just chill in there. Or we would climb up this tree in his backyard and just go as high as we could because only a few of us were able to climb the tree because of the branch that started it. That branch was fairly high up there so only a select few could reach.

7. I honestly believe it depends on the person. Some people can fall in love at the drop of a hat, and others are a little wearier of the word “love”. But I mean if you think that there is a future with that person, by all means be with them and try to make everything work. But when you see a future, you need to kind of watch how you two work. Like how you click and how you but heads, things like that I feel like are really fairly important. I mean there are people who just click and everything is perfect from the beginning and that’s great. But there are also others who take time to fall for someone and things aren’t always fine and dandy from the beginning on. So really it depends on who you are.

2. Parents of teenagers definitely are brave souls. Teens are not in any way shape or form easy to deal with and put up with. They argue just to argue, they poke at things just to get under their skin, and teens are jerks at times. But parents have to allow their teens to have freedoms. Curfew is a huge deal to a teen. Who wants to go home at like 7:00 at any age? There is no fun in that no matter what age a person is at. But parents like to have their teens home at a reasonable time because they’re worried about them doing bad things or something along those lines, most of the time. But parents really need to give their teens a reasonable curfew, that’s a big one. They also need to stop trying to baby their teens. They did a good job already, they made it to 13+ because of their parent’s encouragement and teachings but from then on. Parents need to give their teens the ability to sink or swim on their own. Everybody needs encouragement, but a helicopter parent is much different than encouragement. And freedoms, this is huge. If a kid isn’t doing well in school, I understand grounding them or taking privileges away, but when they’re doing well at life. They need to have their freedoms and chances to still be a kid

quotes are great