Leyva: Homesick

          I remember going home everyday after school and wishing that the day I left for college would arrive sooner. I wanted to live my life without my parents telling what to do and leave the busy city of Los Angeles. I was tired of having to ask for my parents' permission for everything. But mostly importantly, I no longer wanted to live in Los Angeles. I was tired of  living in a city where it is always crowded,  where you do not know your neighbors, and where there is always so much noise. I thought leaving was what I really wanted to do but once the day actually came, I realized it was completely different then what I imagined. I was so busy thinking of the things I hated that I did not realize the people and places I was going to miss. 

         Now that I have left for college and am in a completely different city, I have discovered how much I love my family and the city I was born in. When I first arrived to New Orleans, I immediately noticed that there was hardly any traffic, there was practically no one on the streets, and it was really quiet. Life in New Orleans was the opposite of life in Los Angeles. I was excited that I was in college in New Orleans but as the days passed by I started missing little things from back home like walking to the store and fighting with my sisters. I miss living in Los Angeles but I miss being with my family so much more. I was so happy about not having my family bugging me all the time that I did not think about how much I was going to miss them. Before I was counting the days until I left for college, now I am counting the days until I go back home and see my family. 

Kenner: No Pork for Me

When I was a kid, I loved pork. I would almost cheer for joy whenever my mom would make me bacon for breakfast and I would happily devour any ham sandwiches for lunch. I saw pork as something everyone ate. I never felt guilty or uneasy inside when I saw pork on my plate. When I was thirteen, I saw a documentary that showed how pigs were slaughtered. They were killed; hooked to an assembly line to be maliciously chopped up and sent out to stores for consumption. The killing of the pigs effected me more than any other animal in the documentary. I felt sorry for the pigs so much that when I looked back at all the times I have eaten pork, I felt sick. It was then I decided to never eat pork again.

Whenever I go grocery shopping now, I am always careful about what meat I buy. I always check the ingredients carefully to make sure there is not even an ounce of pork. I do not care if I was starving, I would still never eat pork. My family and friends have also been affected by my choice to give up pork. Thy cannot just cook or buy any kind of meat now. For example, my grandmother now only buys turkey and roast beef since I have moved in with her. If my friends and I go out to eat, we all make sure it is something we all like and can eat. I have not eaten pork for over five years now. I do not regret my decision because I feel better about what I consume now.

Falu's: The Bored Princess

The Underworld is hidden in the depths of Earth. It is the kingdom of the dead, ruled over by Hades. Hades, a greedy god who is greatly concerned by the increase of his subjects, possesses a weakness, his daughter Letha.

His love for his only child is greater than the love he has for Persephone, his wife. Because of this great love, Persephone became jealous leaving Hades, the Underworld, and denying the existence of the child as her own.

After betrayal, Letha, now 17 years old, has grown into a fine future heiress and ruler of the Underworld. Life in the Underworld is not particularly unpleasant to Letha. It is rather like a miserable dream, full of shadows, without sunlight or hope; a joyless place, where the dead slowly fade into nothingness. Letha is used to this kind of life.

When The Erinnyes visited the Underworld, they said that Letha could stare for hours at the River of Lamentation. She was able to see the tiniest and most miserable souls in the depths of the river. The Erinyes said that if the gods had a staring contest in all the realms, she could win.

     One day Letha, with her dull face, woke up and wondered how interesting it would be to stare at living things. She decided to take a trip to Earth. She managed to escape her overly protecting father. She also deceived Cerberus to let her out of the gates of the Underworld. She rode the ferry across the Acheron, the fare was free to the King’s daughter.

     Once on Earth, she walked for many hours in the forests and fields. She stared at the sky, the sun, the trees, and the ground.  She noticed a living thing, a shepherd boy. She had a strange feeling in her chest, but that did not stop her from staring at the shepherd boy. She stared and stared, “Beautiful creatures, humans are!” she exclaimed. Finally, Letha gave her big green eyes a rest. She turned around and returned to the Underworld, to tell her father about the wonderful adventure she had on Earth.

Hixon- Church

As a child growing, going to church every Sunday was mandatory for my family according to my mom. My sisters and I would hate waking up early, getting dressed in our Sunday's best, and sitting for hours. We would always dose off during the service and my mom would nudge us giving that "your in trouble" glare. It was not until I got into high school that my mom did not make church mandatory, it was our choice whether we decided to go or not. So of course I loved sleeping in which resulted in me rarely going to church. However, I realized that every time I miss church for a long period of time, the next time I went I felt as if the sermon being preached was directed specifically toward me. This would baffle me. Now I go to church on a consistent basis, but every now and then I miss a Sunday or two and know the message next Sunday will speak to me specifically. Through this I've learned that Jesus has a weird was of communicating with me.

Norton: Veteran's Day

November 11, 2013 was a very good day to be me. This veteran’s day, I was lucky enough to perform at the Daughter’s of World War II Veteran’s Day luncheon and listen to the few hundred people left who knew and experienced WWII personally. I was awarded this opportunity when my mother contacted Laura Leppert, the former first lady of Dallas and president of the Daughter's of WWII, and shared with her one of my original songs, If Only Hearts Could Talk. The song is about The Samuels, a couple I met working at a local burger joint in Dallas. They met when he was fatally wounded and had to be hospitalized. She was his nurse, and in the 2 weeks she took care of him, they fell in love. He would always crack this joke, "I through up on her, and it turned her on." Taken aback by the song, Mrs. Leppert asked me if I would consider using my music to help the Daughter's of WWII project Wings of Freedom. The Wings of Freedom project is unique because it allows WWII Veterans to go back to their battlefields to obtain closure and say their last goodbye. I was more than willing to help the cause by donating all the proceeds of my song to the Wings of Freedom project and performing at the Veteran's Day Luncheon. 

The Veteran’s Day Luncheon was unlike any event I’ve ever performed at. Of the 600 guests, there were 200 WWII Veterans from all around America. Stories, songs, and poems about WWII were shared along with prayers and much more. I was allowed to bring eight guests for free, but the most important of them were The Samuels. Not only are they the inspiration behind If Only Hearts Could Talk, but they also starred in my music video for the song. After I performed the song for the many guests, The Samuels came up on stage to take a bow and receive the roses I gave to them. As everyone stood and clapped for their service and wonderful love story, I felt so grateful that I could share that moment with them.

After the luncheon was over, I was swarmed with people from the greatest generation giving me thanks and admiration for writing the song. I felt flabbergasted because I wrote the song out of pure appreciation to the veterans, not the other way around.  The kind words they gave me were so moving that I have been thinking about each and every conversation I had with these people for days. One kind grandfather even asked me for my autograph to give to his grand-daughter. 

FALU's: The Windows to my World

    It is very strange how your life can be changed by a pair of glasses. I realized this when I had forgotten my glasses at home before going to work. Within a mere minute of the time, my perspective on the world was altered. And I do mean that literally. I always wear my glasses for classes, work, and for movie nights.

    The day I forgot my pair, I managed without them and forgot them altogether. The weekend was a mildly fuzzy one, to say at least. How incredibly blind I was to the reality I was missing out on. I realized that upon my return from work, and I started looking for them without any luck.

After two days thorough search, very late at night, I found my glasses at the

bottom of my backpack. A feeling of joy filled me at that very moment. As soon as I found them, I slipped them onto my face, it was as the world had been opened for me. Everything seemed brighter, and more beautiful, like a HD movie. I could now recognize friendly faces in the distance; I could read texts that had been before, to me, just a fuzzy line.

     Now, I began to observe the world more closely. I can see ants on the sidewalk when I go to take the bus to go to college. How splendid  hard workers ants are!. I realized this is how everyone without optical aids always saw the world. However, I noticed that there is an advantage to wearing glasses, that a person with normal vision does not have. At any time, I can remove my glasses and remind myself why I have them in the first place. If at any occasion I doubt the beauty of the world, I can simply put on my glasses to appreciate it.

     During that weekend, the mornings where dull. Every distant shape was soft edged, and every distant customer and friend unrecognizable. Now, I wake up, the dull vision is still in my natural eyes, but with a simple move I cast my vision through two optical windows and the world instantly brightens. Details become clear. Some might claim that the microorganisms are in the details, but I would argue for the opposite. If you happen to see me walking around campus with a little jig in my walk, it might be because, for a moment, I forgot to put my glasses on, and suddenly remembered how beautiful life is.

Kenner: Nine Hours of Sleep

As a child, I grew up believing that I would not be able to function the next day if I did not get at least nine hours of sleep. It started after I saw the Garfield commercial that told kids that people needed to sleep for nine hours every night. I took the narrator’s words to heart and woke up every morning counting all the hours I have been sleep. My auntie also was involved in this. She would tell me every night to be in bed by 8:30 which later progressed to 9:30 as I kept getting older. I knew she would be mad at me if I stayed up any later so I always made sure I was in bed on time.

Once I got into high school, I could not always go to sleep at 9:30. Being in high school meant that I had more homework to do and now I had to actually studying for a test. My auntie would still tell me that I should go to sleep early, but she did not bother me after realizing all the work I had to do for school. Being in high school also meant hanging out with my friends outside of school. I wanted to go to the movies, go to parties, or go shopping with my friends but I could not do that by 9 ‘clock. My auntie allowed me to go out, but I still felt weird being out past 10 ‘clock.

Now I am in college and there is no way for me to sleep nine straight hours every night. I find myself up all night studying for test. I have many homework assignments that take me over a couple of hours just to complete. There are even students that have to work two jobs in addition to the studying and homework. Scientists say people need at least nine hours of sleep every night, but that is almost impossible as you get older.