New Page

            I've decided I'm going to start Being Human on a new page so anyone can access it just by clicking it on the top of my blog!

New Blog

                      Hello viewers! I'm so happy that more and more people are reading my blog everyday. I have decided to make a new blog titled, Being Human. In there, you will see the different aspects there are to life, and different emotions we go through everyday. I would like your feedback on this and I know I will have the same loyal viewers I have had throughout  my blogging experience with Passionate Paragraphs. Please comment back as soon as possible on what you think, and I'll post the link for my new blog!

Cyberbullying

   A week ago we watched a movie, Cyberbullying. It's about a girl who gets bullied and it almost takes her life. Her mother tries to get a law passed but can't because it doesn't physically harm the victim. In the end, the mother does get a bill to be written, and Taylor, the victim, tries to live her life as it was before.
          In the past decade, there have been many cyberbullying cases as technology evolves. Taylor and her family was lucky. They didn't lose a daughter, sister, friend. Some were not as lucky. Take Megan Meier for example. She registered for a MySpace account and befriended a fake profile. Later on, he started bullying her and in the end it was only one message that did it. Only one message that caused Megan to take her life. This world would be better off without you.
          A law is being waited to be passed. Now, if you are a bully, you can't only be expelled from school, you can be arrested. People think they can't get into trouble if they're saying bad things on the internet about a person. They think, because adults aren't supervising them every minute of the day, they have the right to do whatever they desire. They're wrong

           Cyberbullying is no joking matter. It's serious. Now that something is being done about it, it is serious. Sometimes it's not only the bully's fault. If your the victim you need to shut down the site right away. It can get out of hand really easily. Kids think parents are only there to admonish them. They're there to help you when no one else is. Listen to them. Megan was also told to shut down her MySpace account. She didn't. I'm not saying it's always the victims fault, but they have a decision to act. Suicide is never the answer. It's just another way to run away from your problems.

          You have a choice. Stop cyberbullying. Take down your account, walk a mile in someone else's shoes, don't be afraid to help. You can make a difference. It all starts from a choice. Your choice.

For more information log on to http://www.loc.gov/index.html (library of congress) to and search cyberbullying or even watch the movie Cyberbullying.

The Stars

In the night,

The stars shine bright

Who knows what's beyond the light?

For when it's dark,

There will be light, 

But who knows when it will shine all night?

Sirius, My favorite, and the Brightest Star

                As you have read my little poem, you can tell I'm a fan for the stars. I don't mean actors or actresses, singers or dancers. No. I mean the ones up there. The ones shining bright above our heads, those tiny, little balls of light. Since the past couple of months, I've taken an interest in the stars.

The Constellation, Aquarius

                The way they shine to show us a path. The way they form to create a constellation. The way they give us hope. Uncountable they are, and mesmerizing in each and every way. There's galaxies and a whole universe full of them. They hold a mystery just waiting to be uncovered.

               Haven't you all wished upon a star, waiting for that wish to come true? Experience the wonder of knowing what's out there? I have. Curiosity is the one emotion that never leaves my side. Asking millions of questions to finally get answers is one of the things I love to do. I want to know what's out there. Is it heaven, or is it just more stars? 

               People say the ones who've passed are among the stars. They're one of them, watching us, guiding us to the right path. It's like they're their with us, always willing to help. There are theories, and there are fantasies. Who really knows what's out there?

               One day . . . Someday I wish to know. I wish to lay out a blanket on the fresh, green grass and explore. Just watch. Take a telescope, a book, and just watch. There in the calmness of nightfall, with the chirps of the crickets, watching the sun bade goodbye and waiting for the stars to come and greet me hello.

I’m An Eighth Grader . . . Already?

“Time goes by fast when you’re having fun.” Well isn't that quote true? Two years ago, I was walking through the doors of Herbert Hoover Middle School as an anxious sixth grader. Now I’m already an eighth grader hardly believing that sixth grade ever happened. Where did the time go? Certainly not out of the window! I know it happened, but why so fast?

The past two years have been a great experience, and I will always cherish them. This year though, it’s different. It’s like fifth grade all over again. We’re at the top of the world! The sixth and seventh graders look up to us. Of course with every year our responsibilities, homework, and . . . everything increases. Though even with all these cons there are pros. We have two electives instead of one, the new ones being technology education and home economics. For field trips, we get to go out of state to visit two of the country’s main historic cities, Boston and Washington D.C. There’s much more to being the senior most class than you would think. It’s only a week since school started, but I’m getting used to my classes quicker than I expected. The teachers are all nice, some calm and sedate, and others loud and bold. Classes aren’t as different, but definitely more interesting than they used to be. For example, in Social Studies, we get to go more into depth about the immigrants coming to the country, and about the historic American Revolution. Don’t let the fact; I’ve only had one week of school fool you because, the school year is in full swing. I’ve already had my first two quizzes! Yes, along with homework, the amount of studying you have to do for tests and quizzes have also increased.

Friends are the ones who stay with you every step of the way. They help you when you need it especially during middle school years. In my first year, one of the things I was worried about was meeting my old friends and making new ones. Later, I found out I had nothing to worry about. I don’t necessarily have the same friends I did in elementary school like, and I’m fine with that. As long as I have friends with me, I know everything will be alright.

Middle school is an excellent experience. It’s a great transition because when wed came in we were only eleven and now we’re teenagers. The difference is overwhelming and it’s the biggest roller coaster ride of all. We experience many changes and it might not be great every step of the way. All we have to do is sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the ride.

Laugh or Cry

            Today's post is going to be a little different. Instead of writing in paragraphs, I'm going to write you a poem. I hope you like it!

Laugh or Cry

Life is a journey

There's ups and downs all around

But how do we face what's not known

Do you laugh or give a frown?

Here and there we see new faces

Are they all giving back a smile

Problems are there but how to solve them

Do you figure it out all the while?

Our lives our short 

So what do we do

Cry and frown

Or tell life I'll always laugh my days through?

                 Life is great so how would you spend it? Always remember, everyday may not be good, but there's something good about everyday. So life your heart out and remember to always wear a smile!

                                               

Keep On Moving Forward

Keep On Moving Forward

What a wonderful thing it is... family. You can always turn to them for a helping hand. Through good times and bad, they’ll always be with you. Of course, being born into a wealthy, prestigious family made life even better. Our wishes were always fulfilled. We had the perfect house, school, clothes, anything, you name it. Even with all this, my sister and I didn’t understand one thing... there’s always a time in life when you’ll have to struggle.
It’s been one year now. Anne and I have changed so much. We never would have if the recession hadn’t hit. My father, a financial broker at the Nasdaq building in New York, was a very hard worker. Why did it have to be him? Things were going really well. It happened on a day I remember very clearly, one day that I’ll never forget.
The day was sunny and bright. It was in the middle of August so summer was almost over. We were waiting for our dad to get home, because Anne, Henry, and I wanted to get new shoes and school supplies for September. He finally arrived at six o'clock, an hour after his usual time.
We couldn’t see past his depressed mien, but that didn’t stop Mom from asking what had happened at work.

“Nothing much,” he replied, “I’m just really tired.”

“Dad, can we go shopping for school supplies?” I asked, “We need new shoes too.”

“Didn’t you hear your father, kids? He’s tired, and anyways it’s too late. We can go another day,” our mom remarked.

We left the room but Henry stayed back. He made an excuse to get a snack from the kitchen. Little did my parents know that he was eavesdropping on them.

My father was speaking almost in a whisper, “Diane, I’ve... I’ve lost my job.”

“What! They can’t do this to you!” she explained, “You’ve been in the company for fifteen years!”

“I know. It’s the recession,” he answered.

“So what are we going to do now?” my mother questioned.

As if with all the answers my dad said, “I’ll just have to find another job. We have enough money to stay in this penthouse for a couple of months. For now, I just want you to look for new houses and don’t tell the kids just yet. As for shopping, keep the expenditures to a minimum, only buy what you really need.”

After listening to that conversation, Henry sprinted up to our room to tell us the news. We were dumbstruck. A minute later, Anne and I started laughing.

“That’s a nice one Henry,” I joked, “ Like Dad actually lost his job!”

“Yeah. You really got us there for a sec,” Anne agreed.

“I’m not joking! Why don’t you believe me?”

Anne declared, “Hmm... Let’s see... You play pranks like this all the time, and they’d never fire Dad, even if we are going through bad times.”

“If you don’t believe me, come downstairs and I’ll show you proof.”

My sister and I looked at each other. We were both thinking the same thing. Our brother was crazy. The two of us ended up following Henry. Everything seemed normal. Mom was on the couch searching the web and Dad was in the bathroom. This was Henry’s time to search for proof. He finally found a paper with the Nasdaq company letterhead. It was a letter to Dad. Here’s what it said:

Dear Mr.Paterson,

It is to our disappointment that we have come to the decision to fire you. We can’t afford to give everyone their salaries because of the recession. We apologize for the inconvenience.

We all looked at each other in disbelief. The bathroom faucet turned on and that was our signal to put the letter back. Then the three of us walked over to the family room to talk things out.

“I can’t believe it!” Anne wailed, “How are we ever going to get new clothes or shoes? Lizzie... will we have to go to pu... pub... public schools?”

Henry sighed, “Anne! Dad lost his job and all you can think about is clothes and schools? Think about the grief Dad must be going through!”

“He’s right,” I claimed, “We should be consoling Dad at a time like this. Instead we’re thinking about ourselves. Are we really that superficial?”

“Uhh... you kind of are! Okay, first thing tomorrow we’ll talk to him. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” the two of us said in unison.

The next morning we all planned to talk to Dad at breakfast. There was only one problem, he wasn’t there. We didn’t bother asking Mom since we knew he probably went out for a job interview. He didn’t come back until after we ate lunch.

“Well Diane, I went for three... kids!” he exclaimed not realizing we were in the room.

“Dad,” Henry started, “We know you lost your job. We just want to tell you that we’re here to help you in anyway possible. We love you.”

“Oh kids. I love you too. You guys do realize this does mean you can’t take a shopping spree anytime you feel like it, and we might have to move.”

“Yes and we’re ready!” The three of us said together.

“Thank you. Now as I was saying, I went for three job interviews today. They all went pretty good. We just have to wait for the calls.”

An hour later, the calls finally came. Dad was denied the opportunity of the first two jobs. The last call held the good news we were all waiting for. Yes, he got the job! All of us were filled with joy. Even if it does pay much less than Dad’s old job, we’re still happy with it. Now a year later, life still goes on. It might not be the one we had but we’re thankful. We support each other and that’s all we need. When life doesn’t go your way, you just have to keep on moving forward.

   

I'm Back!

                      Hi, everyone! I know I haven't blogged in almost a year but be ready for more posts! It's great to see I have more viewers and I can't wait to write more! Be ready for my next post and many more to come!