Platinum Speeches

Seat Belts

By: Ali Keen

My mother was in a car accident in 2006. My older sister Dawn and younger brother Trevor were in the car with her, they left her for dead. When the EMT's got there she was starting to wake up a little. When they got her to the hospital they told my stepdad that she may never walk again. She had broken everthing from the knee down and shattered every bone in her foot from the ankle down, and had to have nine staples in here head and has now had up to eight surgerys on her right leg.

Right before the accident my brother made my mom put on her seatbelt. The EMT's and docter said that if she had not been wearing one she would more than likely died on impact. That seatbelt saved my mothers life. I would be sitting here today if it had not ben for that small strap of matiral that held my mother to this world.

Drive safe. Wear your seat belt.

~Ali

Driving under the influence

By: Kim Brown

Thousands of teenagers die each year for driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. When you drive under the influence not only can you hurt yourself you can hurt others. A man is driving down the interstate, he's swerving and crossing the line, he has ran off the road a few times. He then drives over to the oncoming traffic, a family in a van is coming towards him, he never hits the brakes just keeps going and they crash. A head on collision that killed that whole family, now you have that to deal with for the rest of your life. Can you carry that guilt? Drive safe and be smart.

Overcome your fear of the dark!

Only way to overcome your fear
is to face it when it is near
if it is at night
when the bright looses its light
stand tuff and do not cuss
cause the end is nowhere near

Tonight's the darkest night
the boogyman is sure to strike
don't run nor jump
just sit on your rump
and face your greatest fear.

Journal Highlight

You say it's not okay

to be gay

to be black

well i think you lack

so many things

like a brain

you say hispanics should be slain

your just evil

so vacuous

hateful.

your reasons

have no meaning

it's just hate

the words don't translate

you take the easy way out

so afraid to shout

and stand up

so then shut up

and sit down.

Five Chimneys by: Olga Lengyel

This book is about the life of a women who was taken to a Nazi concentration camp with her family. The story starts in the year 1944. Olga tells about the hardships and life of the Auschwitz camp. The camp is run by a women by the name of Irma Griese. The life of the internees of the the camps were misreable and hard. All day the internees were put to death and had to work just to stay alive. The book also tells us about the mishaps in the camp. For instence Olga was asked by man if she would have sex with him and he would give her half of his food. Even though she did not do as he wished she still did not regret her disicion. The book is a great book for people who love learning the truth about the Holocaust and the camps. I would recomend this book to anyone.

Journal Highlight

You Are Poem

You are confident and talented
You wonder about the net
You hear the squeek of your sneekers against the court
You see the orange sphere flying from your hands

You want the fans screaming your name
You are confident and talented

You pretend your at half court, going for the shot with three seconds on the clock and your down by two.
You feel the atmosphere change
You touch the ball with your lips and shoot
You worry you'll miss
You cry when you do
You are confident and talented

You understand it's just a game but it's more to you
You say you'll get it next time
You dream of your name on the back of your favorite teams jersey
You try to practice hard
You hope you win the game
You are confident and talented.

This was written for Darrian Asberry

I think it is so racist when....

I think it is so racist when people discrimminate against others and be so loquacious about it. It's like they don't care who heres it. It makes me so mad sometimes but I can't do anything about it because I'm on the basketball team, and I don't wanna get kicked off or suspended from over racism. (Stopped early.)

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Twisted is about a boy named Tyler who is a dorky teenager who wants to make himself known. So in order to do that he does the "Foul Deed." He spray paints the outside of the school with graffiti and gets caught. He has to do some community work to make up for his crime instead of going to jail. He goes to work for the janitors at his high school and by the end of the summer instead of the dorky looking teenager he was he is now a bulked up dork for his senior year. Then he goes to a party while still on probation and it all goes down hill from there. After the party he later finds out that he is being charged for taking dirty pictures of the girl who invited him to the party, Bethany. The police tell him that he can no longer be put in a classroom with the oother students, so they put him in a little room off of the main office. After all of this happens him and his dad get into a fight and Tyler leaves to go to his friend Yoda's house. Later him and his dad make up and his dad tells him that he is sorry. Then Tyler finds out that he was not guilty and they let him off the hook. He turns his life around and tries to work harder to get what he wants out of life. It is anawesome book! I loved It!