Changes, by Yuletta

My heart began to beat like a drum roll as I took baby steps to my destination. I couldn’t believe this. I felt like my life was coming to an end. Every step that I took was a step that I wanted to take back. I felt my heart in my throat as I begin to swallow. A long tear rolled down my face as I briefly closed my eyes. I begin to pray, hoping this was just a wicked nightmare. As I opened my eyes, I saw two policemen talking amongst themselves. Panicking, I ran over to them, pleading for an explanation. One of the men grabbed a hold of my arm and began to stir me in a certain direction. At that moment, I felt like an infant. Hopeless, desperate, confused, and lonely. My stomach began to do cartwheels, and I felt like I was going to vomit. As we got closer, I resisted. A part of me wanted to let go and run. But another part me wanted to get closer. I need to know that it wasn’t true. It’s not him.

As we became even closer, I knew. I noticed the little fingers and the black converse shoes. The tears begin to flow like a stream, but no words or noises came from my mouth. The policeman looked at me as he slowly pulled back the white sheet. His face was revealed. My heart sunk as I dropped to my knees and began to weep. My body began to shake. I felt like I was hyperventilating, as my body heaved up and down as I cried. I buried my face in the cape of his neck. This can’t be true. Not him! What did I do wrong? Nothing or nobody could convince me of anything right now. I was so caught up. I was so caught up, I didn’t even hear the police talking behind me. I was so caught up, I didn’t realize I was being lifted from the ground. I began to scream and move my body violently, fighting at anyone who came after me. I watched as he pulled the cover back over his body. I watched as they lifted his lifeless body and put him on stretchers. I watched as they took him. My life, my son.

It has been three years since my son’s death. I’ve never thought I’d over come that day, month, and the years. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of him. It took awhile, but I’m actually learning how to deal with his death. I realized that sitting here, being angry and depressed, wasn’t going to take the pain away. It wasn’t going to bring him back. I realized that I needed to get my mind focused on something else. I didn’t know what else to do so I decided to go to college. I’m still young so I figured that it wouldn’t matter. I’m studying the field of Criminal Justice. My son was killed by a hit and run driver and has never been caught. Justice hasn’t served its purpose yet and I’m determined to make a difference. I-

“Danielle!”

I quickly snapped out of my daze when I heard my name. I looked up and saw my best friend standing above me. I smiled and gathered my papers.

“Hey girl, what’s up?” I asked as I stood and grabbed my purse.

“Nothing girl. Are you ready for some lunch?” she asked as she held the door open for me. We walked out and began to walk across the street to our favorite restaurant. As we were walking, I noticed a little girl crossing the street, without her parents. I frowned as I wondered “where are her parents?” As I began to get Alicia’s attention, a car came zooming by. I instantly lost my breath. The little girl turned around just as the car came to a holt. I clenched my chest and sighed deeply, silently thanking God.

“Come on girl, let’s go.” Alicia said as she grabbed my wrist. We walked inside o the restaurant and seated ourselves.

“Are you okay D?”

“Yes. It’s just . . . you know.” I said as I glanced down briefly.

“Yeah, I know. D, you are so strong. I look up to you girl! I mean . . . I don’t see how you can do this.”

“Do what?” I took a sip of my water.

“Being patient. D, it has been three years since De’Shawn’s death and his killer hasn’t been caught yet. I mean if I was you, GIRL I would’ve flipped!”

“I did.” I quickly said.

“I mean yeah, I know. But I still would be flipping!”

We laughed. I loved this girl.

“I did Alicia. You were there. You know I was out of it for awhile. There’s just a point of time when you have to accept things. Deep down inside do I want to kill that person? Yes! But I can’t sit here and be angry at the world when I can be doing something about it.”

“I feel you girl. I know De’Shawn is looking down on his mommy AND his God mommy,” I smiled and giggled “I’m proud of you D. I love you girl.”

“I love you too girl.”

The Connection, by Brianna

Every single year you are put into a group of new classes, with a group of new and old people. You learn the teacher’s name, how long they’ve been teaching, where they taught before, if they’re married, or if they have any kids. You go through an entire ten months staring some man or woman in the face when they’re supposed to be teaching you something. Showing you some life altering information like what x will equal if 23x+5x+2=150, or better yet what the perfect construction of a sentence looks like. For 180 days we look these people in the face, and nine times out of ten, we will never know who were looking at.

Ms. Marquis took the time. She spent 180 days with us and the time went by too fast. She told us her aspirations, her experiences, what she expected from us as students AND as people. She was kind and generous, but business was business. As long as you held your own she was going to hold hers.

When my grandma died she pulled me aside and asked what was wrong. I didn’t know how she knew because I masked myself with happiness. I am not quite sure when she found the time to notice, or to look any deeper than what was right in front of her, because my 180 days were up. She was my sophomore English teacher, I had been promoted to looking another woman in the face for 180 days. I was a junior now.

When I moved to North Carolina I thought my circumstances would change and they did a little. I cant help to ask myself what would Ms. Marquis tell me to do? That means a lot, she took the time to connect. She understands the meaning of being a teacher. Its more than just teaching the curriculum, its about teaching life lessons. How can you teach a group of kids, young adults, with personal struggles of their own, if you don’t even know who they are. Ms. Marquis paid attention to the little things that made it easier to understand the big things. She gave us more than any teacher ever did. She gave us the world in 180 days.

Alien Smoke Signals, by Terrika

Ashley woke up with her head throbbing, her eyes swollen, and her nose stuffy. She didn’t know what was wrong but she did know it wasn’t that time for “Mother Nature” to be due, so she was very puzzled. Something was strange feeling, and her house was extremely cold. She looked out the window and saw that the sky was darker than ever for an August summer morning. She called her boyfriend, but all she kept getting was his voice mail. She put on her house coat so she cold step outside. She grabbed her cigarette box and a lighter, pulled out a cigarette and lit one.

When she stepped outside on her porch, it was so cold that her windows had frosted. She looked around to see if she might see anyone. Her street was deserted as if she were the only person left. She knocked on her neighbor’s door but didn’t get an answer. She then heard a whirling noise coming from her backyard. She threw away her spent cigarette and lit another one. When she peeked around the corner, as if she were a secret spy, she saw nothing. She was beginning to feel more afraid. Her heart starting beating fast and her knees started to buckle. She tried to call her boyfriend again. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed his number. Again there was no answer just a static noise in the background.

Starting to get as annoyed as she was scared, she hung the phone up and started to walk in her backdoor. Suddenly something tapped her on her shoulder. She dropped her cigarette and phone as she jumped and twisted around to see what touched her but nothing was there. Frightened, she turned around to pick up her cigarette and phone. Her cigarette wasn’t there. She hurried up and grabbed her phone, rushed into the house, and locked the door.

Running into her room, she was startled again by the whirling sound this time it came from her bathroom. She walked up to the door and reached out to turn the door knob. She felt as if was moving in slow motion and her feet were stuck in sand. When she opened the door she couldn’t believe what she saw. A blinding light like those at a football game came from her bath tub. Her eyes grew big like an owl. She slammed the door and ran into her room and locked the door. She then heard jittering coming from the bathroom. She thought that someone was going to kill her so she grabbed her cell phone and called 911. When the phone kept giving off static she then tossed it across the room because she knew it wasn’t going to help her. She started to climb out the window when her door slammed open and two strange figures were standing in her doorway. They had rubber looking skin and football-shaped heads with no nose. She knew that they weren’t humans and couldn’t believe what was happening. They then raised they’re hands and started to suck her into their bodies. She tried to resist being sucked in but couldn’t help it. As soon as they got her in there touch Ashley blacked out.

When Ashley awoke she was in the middle of a cemetery. She searched her coat pocket to see if her cigarettes were in there. When she felt that they were, she took one out and lit it. She started to look around and couldn’t believe that she was just abducted by aliens and dropped off in a cemetery. But why did they drop her off in a cemetery? She was walking around trying to find the nearest person so she could get help. She seen this old looking man with a torn shirt and raggedy pants with no shoes on and it looked like he had no face smoking a cigarette walking toward a specific grave. She tried to ask him a question but he just going by as if he didn’t see her.

“Excuse me, Excuse me sir could you help me?” Ashley said as he kept going.

She watched as the man stopped in front of the grave site and then sank into the ground. She started to think that she was hallucinating. She tried to find the nearest way out herself. She then noticed that she was caged in. Then she saw a woman that looked similar to the man stop in front of a grave site and sink into it. Ashley walked over to the grave site to read it. It read: Here lays Samantha Smith a mother of two. We love you mom. Then she saw a cigarette engraved on her site. She then knew that the women must have died from smoking cigarettes. She turned to look at all the grave site’s and every one had a cigarette engraved in there site. She started walking and noticed something. On a site there was her name and a cigarette engraved in her site. She then knew why the aliens brought her here. She began to cry when the blinding light came back and she blacked out again.

Ashley woke up in her bed and started to look around. She looked out the window to see if the sky was dark but it was blue with white healthy clouds sitting and the sun peeking over the horizon. She walked outside to see if anyone was around and her neighbor’s and children were outside playing in the yard and pulling off for work. Ashley walked in her room and got her cell phone to call her boyfriend.

“Hello.” Her boyfriend said

“You won’t believe what I had a dream about.” Ashley said to her boyfriend

She told him what happened. She picked up her pack of cigarettes and threw them in the garbage. Ashley thought that the aliens were trying to protect her and she thanked them in her dreams.

INSPIRATION, by Tameka

I think Mr. Carl Kenney is a great speaker. He had lots of thing to share with us. He reminds me of myself, and I feel like if he can get though hard time and struggles then I can to. He showed me to not pay attention to what everybody has to say and just to look at them and laugh. Cause the people that I have problem with they are not going to be there when I get my diploma. Now I should look forward to going to college even if I think I'm not going. I should just have faith in myself. That's why I feel like MR.CARL KENNEY is a great speaker. He helped me to believe in myself!

Mr. Carl Kenney's Blog

The Real You; The Real Me

So many people in this world are prejudged or talked about by other people. Everyone does it, but the question is: Is it right?

No, no, it's not, because nobody likes to be judged or talked about. I should know because I have felt prejudged before plenty of times. So I have learned to try to treat other people the way I want to be treated. I mean I'm not perfect. Of course I get upset and say things I don't mean, but kindness goes a long way. I wish that some people would take the time that they are wasting to judge people and use that time for something positive, like getting to know that person. For example, ask questions about the things that you don't know or aren't accustomed to. I think that this would make people feel better about themselves and a lot of us would learn something knew about other people. This way others wouldn't feel self-conscience that people are talking about them.

When people get to know people for who they are and not what they're wearing or what they look like, they might actually get to know unique and interesting people!