... caused them to kill, and some say it was other students; however there was also another ingredient... a lack of faith in their lives. In a world where many teenagers are surrounded by things such as materialism and discrimination many have the strength to maintain a spiritual life. I feel that these few are ... them and have chosen which path will lead into a bright future. When a Columbine gunman asked one student if she believed in God, she stuck up for her own beliefs by stating that she did believe. Moments after hearing this reply, one of the gunmen put the gun to her head and took...

• Word Count: 1328
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... "hell" juxtaposed in the same sentence. I turned and looked at one of my best friends and very calmly asked, "Do you think I"m goin" to hell?" She very solemnly nodded her head and began, "I have always thought that. You"re a MORMON, Lacy!" I turned to my other longtime friends and received basically the ... as eternal, and I just hope that they will remember me and my love for them. I have been blessed and will "prosper" because of my faith in my Heavenly Father, and I pray everyday that my old friends will in someway experience the joy that the restored gospel brings to a worthy membe...

• Word Count: 689
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... that promote the advancement of underprivileged youth." In various online interviews, Bryan Clay says the most important thing in his life has been his personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, and that impacts everything in his life, include his racing and desire to help students. In one such article on ... After he attended a Christian college, however, his faith began to have much more of an impact on his life, however. While he may still get big sponsorship deals as the new decathlon champion, Clay thinks some sponsors may actually be scared off by his faith. He thinks he could make ...

• Word Count: 699
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography

... Gates When I first started reading "Into the Wild," I thought to myself, "Why exactly is this boy leaving everything that he knew and loved to go on this journey?" Put himself in complete danger by hitchhiking his way ALONE to Alaska. He gave up all of his possessions and the $25,000 that he ... author's note, basically telling everyone the story plot and what will, in the end, happen to this young man on his way to "living off the wild." It tells his real name, Christopher Johnson McCandless, also, it tells that he had given $25,000 in saving to charity, abandoned his car and most ......

• Word Count: 477
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... lane, the hurdles would be clear. Every now and then my mother would come in and out of the house to make me feel loved, but almost instantly she would take it back when she left. I quickly realized that my mother would steal from us, from me. The money I worked so hard for through the earning of good grades-gone. That hurt ... with God and never gave up or tried drugs as a solution that I could still win. What does a child do who sees that there is something greater than she who is present, but is invisible? She takes a risk. Why does this child attach herself to such a present when th...

• Word Count: 793
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... school concealing a dreadful secret. Melinda struggles throughout her school year withstanding a flashback and battling her lack of voice, frightened to share her secret. She was raped by Andy Evans, a popular senior, the summer before starting high school. Laurie Halse Anderson uses the motifs of mouth, lips, and trees to develop ... can't believe you did that. Asshole." and yet again Melinda still refuses to speak up. Although there were several moments when Melinda didn't speak up, she finally did at the end of the novel. Talking to Rachel, Melinda says, "I didn't call the cops to br...

• Word Count: 548
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The novel, "Hate List," by Jennifer Brown is written from the point of view of teenager, Valerie Leftman whose boyfriend, Nick Levil, opened fire in a school cafeteria filled with students and faculty; he then turned the gun on himself. She was shot while trying to stop him and inadvertently saved the life ... the way that I handle situations. I will try to follow Valerie example and handle these situations in much the same way that she did. She showed me through the way she dealt with the ramifications of the shooting that you can't let a tragedy ruin your life. Even when something terrible h...

• Word Count: 760
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... . This is why everyone considered her a live wire. "An American Childhood," by Annie Dillard explains how children may struggle with adolescence and growing up. When growing up is already hard enough, Annie explains in great detail how moving can take a toll on a young teenager and what she had dealt with this hard process. "Knowing you are alive is watching ... . I was getting angry, as if pushed." Different emotions flying at her any second of any minute can make someone feel bipolar and confused with what decisions to make. She could calm herself easier by doing multiple things, someti...

• Word Count: 708
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... begins with overeating and culminates in attempted suicide. When Dolores is in eighth grade she is raped by Jack, one of her grandmother's tenants. She had always had a crush on Jack and allowed him to give her rides to and from school. She decides that he must have been encouraged by her actions and that therefore the rape is her fault. Shortly after Dolores is ... smoking. Although her doctor warns her that her lifestyle is putting her health in serious danger, she continues to binge and smoke. She does not feel that her life is worth worrying about (126). Shortly after Dolores' high ...

• Word Count: 460
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... the tale, who remained nameless throughout the novel, was only able to discover herself with the help of Mary Fortune. Not only does the main character live a life defined by others, but she also does not know how to express herself and is not confident and unable to be at ease around others of opposite sex. Throughout the story, it has been ... shown in the following quote: "Now grown wiser, I wished for dresses like those my friend Lonnie had, bought at Beale's store." (Munro 1) An example of when she lives a life defined by others is when her mother is making a red dress. The girl do...

• Word Count: 1190
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... and his high school year. Peter seems to be pleased with his decision in preparing for a shooting at Sterling High School, however he had no one to be by his side; he was alone. Peter's loneliness lead him to the unexpected. You may think you know someone, but discover an outrageous action they have done that ... of your child you still could in what he had become Lacy was not planning to let go of her son"" (Picoult 125-126) Lacy was as traumatized by her son's actions as much as anyone else was. Either way, Peter was still her son but his actions made it hard for Lacy to be able ... t...

• Word Count: 1341
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The Story: Carrie always gets teased by her classmates and one day she gets her first period in the shower after physical education. Her mother has never told her about periods and so she thinks she's bleeding to death. When her classmates started laughing and throwing tampons at her, Carrie started to cry the first time. On her way home a little boy on a bike shouts ... chair, the defrosted pig-blood falls down at her and everything is coverd in blood. Tommy gets hitten by a piece of metal and drops dead. Everybody laughes at Carrie and she runs out of the hall. But then she returns and with...

• Word Count: 734
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

The essay "The True Cost of Entering a DSA School" by Brenda Tan, talks about the DSA routes and the causes and impacts of entering schools through DSA. The recent Raffles Institution students not able to enter Junior Colleges has sparked a ... entering branded schools that the DSA routes to branded schools are tough and arduous, and might bring about many negative impacts to the student, one of which has been displayed by the RI students who did not perform to standards. DSA students that are accepted to the branded schools they have to go through the strenuous trainings and also cope well ...

• Word Count: 498
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... everything between had to be kept a secret. As you can see there are lots of conflicts in my book, Backlash. 6) My personal reaction to Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman is very serious. I enjoyed the book because it teaches the reader so much. This book gives an inside look on what happens to ... the bullied and the bully. A lot actually happens to both of them. I was very surprised at how the bully got treated after she was exposed; she got treated pretty rough. Cyber bullying is a serious matter that not a lot of people take into concern. Only certain states have cyber bullying laws and...

• Word Count: 2400
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... nine. You must watch what you eat, her mother would say" (pg. 62). Louise's mother was the first person to warn her about her weight. She was constantly being watched by her mother, which made Louise feel uncomfortable which eventually led to her secretive eating. Her mother was worried about her daughter's weight, not for her health's sake, but about boys ... . He says "Look at you for God's sake...Pretty soon you'll weigh more than I do and I'll be sleeping on a trampoline", and when she confronts him about how he never touches her anymore, he responds by saying "I don't want to touch...

• Word Count: 927
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... so distraught and does not know how to live without her younger sister. As said by Codi, "Our home fell apart when she [Hallie] left- (Kingsolver 10). Because of Codi's inability to live in Tucson without her sister, she moves back to Grace, Arizona, her hometown. Presently in Grace, Codi is involved ... because they help each woman relate to one another. Discussing problems with another woman allows for closeness and for a deep relationship to occur. As noted by Paul Gray, Barbara Kingsolver's novel contains a theme of eco-feminism; a kind, gentle type of writing with women relying on th...

• Word Count: 1050
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... half an hour at a time [or] get to sneak into Rowsell's store on the way back." Miss Ralston also has a certain amount of courage, for she surprises everyone by saying, "I'll think about that, and I'll let you know next Friday." The teacher is respected and therefore is not punished for what ... she said, but Alma suffers immediately from her actions. "The trouble started right away as soon as [the children] got into the schoolyard, because all the ... have dramatic effects on both the girls and the boys. Miss Ralston decides to challenge the boys to see if she can hit the baseball. I...

• Word Count: 1283
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... and when he starts school is thrust into a totally new environment. Where the chaos of a working class home is gone and the boy is surrounded by a sort of, "mental calm," (Rodriguez 548). The instructors at his school "emphasize the value of reflection that opens a space between ... by getting a good education. Rodriguez's parents had very little schooling. He recalls that in third grade he was "annoyed when he was unable to get help", on a simple mathematics assignment (546). His mother was: "a new girl to America [she] had been awarded a high school diploma by ... teachers to busy or...

• Word Count: 1139
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... to conclude that when Dylan and Eric are a pair, Eric's killer psychopath instinct and Dylan's suicidal mind will result in horrific violence. By failing to include an unbiased amount of information on the possible causes of the shooters, he completely fails at his attempt to provide a complete ... answer to the question. The American Theater Company's production of "Columbinis," answers the questions that Cullen did not. Originally written by Stephen Karam and PJ Paparelli, "Columbinis" exposes the many social issues of high school students as well as the "before and after " of ... seem...

• Word Count: 1619
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Looking Backward A Novel by Edward Bellamy How would you feel if one day you woke up and you were in a completely different world from what you were used to? I know that it would be ... I would not have any time to really focus on my studies. Sometimes I would not even get home from out of town games until eleven or twelve o"clock at night and by that point I was way too tired to do any homework. In Bellamy's world I would probably participate in a school activity an hour a day for a couple days a week and that would be ... ...

• Word Count: 1738
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... Frost In the "Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, up until the last stanza the poem appeared to be concerning only on the choice between two roads in a woods. The final stanza, however, gave a significance to the ... ...

• Word Count: 462
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... moving into a house down the street from Cedar Wood Elementary which was reasonably close to Gateway. My 6th grade year started with me walking into the gym and being astounded by the sheer number of kids that where there sitting in the bleachers. I walked in and sat down on an empty row with my dad. We sat through the Welcome/Welcome ... back speech made by Mr. Peters, the principle of the school, before he took us all on the tour of the school. Looking back it seemed everyone was just as nervous as I was because ... it again. As the weeks passed Chris and I stopped being losers and s...

• Word Count: 862
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Learning by Doing Learning is a skill of gaining knowledge to be used in ones everyday life. As a senior in college, I have learned many lessons on learning. If I had worked more outside the ... of the biggest incidents I have been through is repeating an animal science class. If I had applied myself, for excellence in education, I would have done better in my studies. I faced loopholes by not applying myself towards the subject. Through repeating the class, I have gained a better outlook on learning. I did not read the assigned topics; as a result, I faced many hardships. Many of my ... CA...

• Word Count: 342
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

Title: Farm Team Author: Will Weaver Pages: 400 The book Farm Team by Will Weaver is one of the better books I have been able to read this past year. The setting is revealed as the book begins. It takes place the first day ... Billy's mother, Mavis, a lemon and won't do anything about it when the car breaks down. When the law doesn't help him get satisfaction from Meyers, Abner "solves" the problem himself by using his D-16 Caterpillar to level Meyer's office and to crush the twelve used cars in the lot. Although Meyers claims $20,000 in damages, Judge Langen determines that Abner ... field...

• Word Count: 882
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... the school integrated successfully without any trouble, and volunteering in the community during the summer. Eddie Rake proves himself a good man by contributing to the community in more ways than one. First, he holds fishing rodeos for underprivileged children with no fathers. This shows Coach Rake's true character and how he does ... coach youth teams during the summer. The only time Coach Rake had off from coaching was during the summer he spent by coaching younger kids in a youth league which exemplifies his goodness. Coach Rake confirms that he is a good man by taking his own time...

• Word Count: 721
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School