My name is Sarah L. I am 17 years old and I am a junior in high school. I have two brothers, one of them being my twin, and the other is 22 years old. I have a 3-year-old dog named Ava who is my world. I have two main passions in my life. One of my passions in life is dance. I have been dancing for the past 13 years of my life. My family has always supported me and my love for dance. It has brought me to who I am today. It has given me my forever family and my love for teaching children. This brings about my second passion. I want to become an elementary school teacher when I get older. This aspiration comes from dance which has given me the opportunity to teach kids in their classes and is preparing me for teaching children in school. Without my love for dance, I wouldn't have found my love for children, which has shaped me to who I am and what I want to become in the future.
A Day at the Beach
“Come on, Stephen!” I say to my twin brother as I excitedly run in the direction of the beach. I can hear the glossy blue water of the Florida Keys splashing against the shore. As I reach the water, I was oblivious to everything and suddenly, I feel an abnormal sensation on my arm. It felt as though I had run into a spider web, and then the stinging pain kicked in. The stinging felt like 100 fire ants biting me all at once. I looked down and out of complete and utter disbelief, I lay eyes on a jellyfish the size of a basketball.
My family had decided to take a vacation to the Florida Keys in the year 2013. I was with my mother, my father, my older brother Matthew, and my twin brother Stephen. It was the summer after 5th grade and I was 11 years old. At this age, going on any vacation outside of your hometown can be an exhilarating time. Going to the Florida Keys enlivened me as it was a place I had never been before. This excitement distracted me from what I really needed to pay attention to and be aware of, especially at the beach.
This day started out as the past three days had. Getting up, eating, and putting on our swimsuits to get ready for the beach. We had packed some sandwiches and snacks as we planned on being there for lunch. As we got closer to the beach, my mind raced about all the things I desired to do, including swimming. This was what I was most excited for because not only is The Florida Keys known for its clear, smooth, blue water but it also is home to many species of fascinating fish. The thrilling thought of seeing these fish while swimming made me very eager to get in the water. As we arrived at the beach, the dry sand between my toes felt like I was standing on a cloud. We set up our spot on the beach, put our towels and bags down, applied our sunscreen, and started to go down to the shoreline. We spent a good two hours splashing around and spending time with each other before it was time for lunch.We set up our food and sat on our beach towels. The sun was beating down on us which reminded us to reapply our sunscreen. After we finished eating, it was time to go back down to the beach. “Come on, Stephen!” I say to my twin brother as I excitedly run in the direction of the beach. I can hear the glossy blue water of the Florida Keys splashing against the shore. As I reach the water, I was oblivious to everything and suddenly, I feel an abnormal sensation on my arm. It felt as though I had run into a spider web, and then the stinging pain kicked in. The stinging felt like 100 fire ants biting me all at once. I looked down and out of complete and utter disbelief, I lay eyes on a jellyfish the size of a basketball.
Faster than a bullet, I ran out of the water, yelling to my parents “I got stung by a jellyfish!” My parents rush over and ask me “Where were you stung?” I respond my pointing to my arm and say “Right here!” At this point, my arm has begun to get noticeable red and small bumps were starting to form. My dad decides the best thing to do is take me to the health office across the beach. As we are making the journey over to the health office, I remember the fear racing through my body. “What if it was a poisonous jellyfish?” That was the thought racing through my brain faster than the speed of light. All I could do in that moment was wonder.
As we entered the health office, there was not a huge wait so we got to the counter in no time. At this point, my arm was even more red than it was ten minutes ago and the bumps had grown from the size of pebbles to the size of dimes. We got to the counter and the man said “Hello. How may I help you?” My dad responds “ My daughter has been stung by a jellyfish can you please take a look?” The man responds in a very quick manner, gently grabbing my arm and inspecting it. He says “Did you manage to see what the jellyfish looked like?” I respond and say “Yes it was light pink almost clear and had a lot of very thin tentacles.” He continued to look at my arm for a few more seconds before saying “Well I have good news. This type of jellyfish is common here along the coast, however we don’t have many incidences of people being stung by them. You’re lucky. We have a more serious species of jellyfish here that are found farther out, and are very harmful to humans swimming out there.” He points to a warning sign on the wall that has a picture of a multi colored jellyfish that had washed up on shore with a caption reading “Warning: Do not touch. Very poisonous jellyfish. Stay away.” in bold red font. The relief left my body and I felt like I could breathe again. “However we do need to treat this. I’m going to grab some vinegar solution. One moment please.” he says. He goes to a back room and comes back, holding a spray bottle and a washcloth. He sprays my arm with the vinegar solution and covers it with a washcloth. “Keep the washcloth on your arm for about 30 minutes and your arm should start to heal. It should completely heal within 24 hours. ” he said. “Thank you very much.” I said. We left the health office and headed back to the beach. Back at the beach, we updated my mother and brothers on my arm and we decided to head back home. My arm healed within 24 hours like the man had stated. However, I will never forget that harrowing experience at the Florida Keys. It has taught me that anything can happen at anytime. Just because you think it won’t happen to you, doesn’t mean it won’t. Never take anything for granted because before you know it, it could be taken away.
Peter Pan
One night, within the Darling children's sleep Came the flight of Peter Pan, without a peep The Darlings awakened, quite shakened As Peter flys in. He asks the Darlings to come back to Neverland with him, a place where you never grow up and isn’t so grim. “Tinkerbell will help you fly! Go on, don’t be scared and give it a try!” As Tinkerbell poured the pixie dust, her face filled with disgust. This was mostly toward Wendy Darling, the eldest, As tinkerbell always wanted attention and was selfish. One by one, the Darlings left their house by flight As Peter helped them soar out of sight “And down there, is Captain Hook.” Peter said with a look. Michael, the youngest, thought he was fun “No Michael. He is not fun. Be done.” Peter said this without a doubt Captain Hook is nothing to joke about. Throughout their trip, The children and Peter met mermaids and took a dip. They befriended Native Americans, like Tiger Lily And saved her from Captain Hook...really. John, the middle child with poise Helped Peter find the Lost Boys. Peter, the children, and the Lost Boys Defeated Captain Hook with a special noise. An alarm clock inside a crocodile, is what chased Captain Hook to exile. After all was said and done, and they knew that they had won, they all flew out of Neverland and back to the Darlings homeland. Peter put them to bed one by one and the slumber of the Darlings begun. And as Peter was about to leave he said “You can do anything, just as long as you believe.”
The Dark Eyes
It was a few days before Halloween and my friends and I were already planning our night. Halloween is our favorite holiday because since we are juniors in high school, it is a night to cause a little mischief without getting in trouble. However, this night changed everything and I guess you could say Halloween is no longer our favorite holiday. It was Friday night, the night before Halloween. My friends and I were just sitting around playing video games trying to decide what to do tomorrow night. “We could have a Halloween party.” Cyrus suggested. “You seriously want to throw a Halloween party? We did that last year. Don’t you want to do something I don’t know, different? I said. You could say my friends and I are the “popular” group of boys at my school. We throw parties, everyone knows who we are, and everyone wants to be our friend. “I guess you’re right, John.” Cyrus said. “We could go trick or treating and scare all the kids. We could bring big pillow cases and stuff all the candy we can find into them!” Nick said laughing his head off. “Yeah, we could. But don’t you think we should do something crazy and out of the ordinary?” I suggested. “What do you have in mind?” Cyrus asked curiously. “Did you guys hear about that supposedly haunted abandoned house near that old construction site? Maybe we could go explore it.” I said excitedly. “You’re joking.” Cyrus said with a scoff. “I don’t know it seems kind of fun and thrilling. What do you think, Nick?” I asked. “I think it sounds super fun and also it’s Halloween, Cyrus. Live a little.” Nick said with a wink. “Alright fine.” Cyrus agreed. It was officially Halloween night and Cyrus, Nick and I began walking to the house. Once we arrived, the look of the house was appalling. It was run-down, clearly not looked after, and had lots of broken windows. “I don’t know about this.” Cyrus said. “Oh come on, Cyrus!” Nick said and started to walk toward the house. “It’s alright, Cyrus. Come on it will be fun.” I said trying to lighten the mood. “Oh, alright.” said Cyrus with a sigh. The smell as I walked in surrounded the entire house. It was a mixture of rotting wood and dirt. While we were here we decided the most fun activity to do was to try and talk to ghosts. We got the occasional knock or small sound but nothing too exciting. Nick was first, then Cyrus, then me as we entered the bedroom. As I was turning the corner, I noticed something move in the corner of my eye. It was so quick and I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks on me, so I ignored it. In the bedroom we played with an Ouija Board which is supposedly a way to contact spirits in the form of a game board. After a few minutes of getting no responses we all gave up on the board and just sat in the bedroom. “Well this blows.” Nick said. “Yeah. Maybe we should have just gone trick or treating or something.” Cyrus said. “Oh please you’re only saying that because you are scared.” Nick said mockingly. “No! I’m not sca-” “Guys.” I interrupted putting a finger on my lips. “What is it?” Cyrus asked nervously. “I saw something move from behind that curtain.” I said pointing to a curtain across the room. “Oh you’re just seeing things, John. Nothing’s there.” Nick said. Just then, I saw the one thing I will never forget in my entire life. As Nick spoke that sentence, my eyes focused on two different pairs of eyes peeking out from in between the two curtains. Even though the color of the eyes were white, they were ever so dark and evil. Their mouth had the biggest, most sinister grin plastered on their face. As I saw this, I screamed “RUN!” at the top of my lungs. Nick, Cyrus, and I ran out of that house as quick as we possibly could and as I looked back, up in the top window, I saw that same face, staring down at us. We didn’t stop running until we got to my house. We have never spoken about that day since then and no longer celebrate Halloween. I don’t want to know what would have happened if I didn’t see those eyes or if we didn’t run out of the house when we did. Let’s just say I probably wouldn’t have lived to see another Halloween.