I only want to be with you
I only want to be in your arms
Only when I'm around you, do I feel safe from harm

Here we are, preparing to be forever damned to hell
Yet, with you, all I think of is freedom.

Our love is our strength and
Love is not something that they can take away
So we shall never break, our steps will never falter, and our fates will forever be intertwined.

Comparing "The Birds" with "At Least It Wasn't Me"

In each poem, the main character is eager to sacrifice others, but when it comes to sacrificing themselves, they are not so excited.  However, in "The Birds", he knows everyone will have to die eventually, but in "At Least It Wasn't Me",  the main character thinks Death only wants one soul, and then he realizes that Death wants another.  He realizes that everything that he just did to the first sacrifice will probably happen to him.

The message that these poems are sending is that you shouldn't be so quick to throw someone else under the bus.  If you did something bad, don't blame someone else.  It will only delay you getting caught and you will just get in even more trouble for not being truthful in the first place.

Death and the birds are blame. They take all the sacrifices until they get the person that is sacrificing everyone else. Blame will keep taking victims until it catches the culprit. 

So be honest my children. Because if you're not... Death will take you as its next victim and birds will feast on your lifeless corpse! *Insert evil laugh*

Cliffhanger

Author's Note: Not the best story, but I like the last line.

"Sara! Come back!" Josh called after her. She simply giggled and kept running. Sighing, he ran after her. She broke through the edge of the trees and he tackled her to the ground. "Are you really going to run off every time I try to kiss you?"
"Maybe." She replied, ducking away from him and running off again.
Man, this girl is taking playing hard to get to a whole new level, he thought.
Oh, no! She's getting close to the cliff! 
"Sara! Stop! You're getting too close to the cliff!"
She couldn't hear him. "What?" She turned her head back to look at him, but kept running.
He sucked in a sharp breath. He knew what was going to happen, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. She fell off the cliff and his whole world fell with her.

16 Beautiful Butterflies

16 beautiful butterflies flutter,

1 gets washed down in the gutter

15 beautiful butterflies remain,

1 gets eaten, 1 goes down the drain

13 beautiful butterflies stay,

1 leaves and becomes prey

12 beautiful butterflies fly

A cat hunts, 3 more die

9 beautiful butterflies land

2 get squashed between human hands

7 beautiful butterflies take flight

1 gets too close to the light

6 beautiful butterflies survive,

1 gets lost, now there's five

5 beautiful butterflies race

1 loses and leaves no trace

4 beautiful butterflies mourn

1 crash-lands and gets its wings torn

3 beautiful butterflies enter town

They find a river, 2 of them drown

Now there's one butterfly, left all alone

Who's lost a brother for each mile it's flown

And being the last one alive is not something to desire

So, out of options, he thought of his brothers as he flew into a fire

Gym Essay

A lot of people work out and do sports.  They participate in these activities for different reasons.  Some people are trying to lose weight; others just have fun playing their sport. Physical activity provides me with enjoyment.

My sports are track, cheer, and gymnastics.  I love these sports because I get the greatest feeling of pride when I get a faster time, or nail a stunt, or am able to do a new skill without being spotted.  Improving my speed and strength makes me happy because I know that I am being active and staying healthy.

I also enjoy physical activity because my friends do the same sports that I do.  I think it's fantastic that we can have fun and hang out while we are being active.  We even help each other reach goals.  In cheer, we help each other learn dances and jumps, and in gymnastics, we help each other with skills that we struggle with.

People participate in many different kinds of physical activity. Some people do zumba or yoga, some do sports, some jog, and some weight lift. With any activity, they still benefit from it somehow; by getting stronger, more flexible,  faster, or by losing weight. Personally, I just think it's fun. No matter what activity you do, you will benefit from it too. So get out there and get active!

"A Clean, Well-lighted Place" Story Vs. Film

Three main things bothered me about the film adaptation of the story. Firstly, the older waiter sat in a strange position.  It was like a "pregnant lady slouch".  I get that the director might not have wanted any shadow on the older waiter, but there are other ways to make that happen.  No one sits like that.  It's extremely uncomfortable. Secondly, when the older waiter thinks the prayers and replaces words with "nothing", that was the worst part of the film. It got so loud and annoying, it gave me a headache, and since he was Irish and saying prayers, the whole film almost seemed to be a bad imitation of The Boondock Saints. Lastly, I thought how they ended the film was totally awkward.  The older waiter walks down a road in early morning, and birds are squawking.  This bothered me because with all the squawking, I felt like he was about to be attacked by birds or something.

I didn't like how the older waiter was portrayed, but I did like how in the bar that the older waiter went to, there was music playing and he commented on how the counter was unpolished.  I liked this because in the story, the older waiter says you want a bar to be well-lighted, clean, and to not have music.

A Clean, Well-lighted Place Reading Response

"He should have killed himself last week."
"An old man is a nasty thing."
"He has no regard for those who must work."

I chose these quotes because they show how little the younger waiter respects the old man.  He is cruel to wish death upon an old man that did nothing but annoy him because he got home a little later on a few nights.  He falsely states that the old man is not clean, even though he drinks without spilling anything on him, while he is drunk.  Lastly, he thinks that the old man is rude to stay late and drink, but it is the waiter's job to serve the customer.  He is getting paid, and even though he insulted the old man, he still received a tip.