My car accident

CKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!! Went my bones. This was in 2004 in the projects Puerto Rico. I was only 5 years old and I wanted to go to my friend’s house. But my mom told me to stay home and I didn’t listen. This was in 2004 in the projects in Puerto Rico. I went and sat in the sidewalk. The blue car came and I got up right away and he ran over my leg and I was just shocked went it did it went around and done. My mom quickly went wrapped the towel around the foot. I was just shocked went it did. I was losing lots of blood and I was also scared. My mom took me to the hospital and there the doctors stared to help. After that I black out I didn’t know what happen. The lesson I learned was is to respect my mother and look both ways while crossing the street. Gerson N.

"The Future Depends on What You Do Today"

Hi everyone, My name is Carlina Selena Fortes Evora. I’m from a country named Cape Verde, from Sao Vicente Island. Cape Verde is a very tiny country off the west coast of Africa, with 10 separate islands. In Cape Verde, each island has its own variety. The islands’ origins are volcanic. My island is one of the driest and smallest islands in Cape Verde. Sao Vicente is considered the capital of the Lusofona culture. Cape Verde has tall mountains and very nice beaches.

Since I was born I grew up with my mom and my siblings. My mom and my biological dad separated when I was little, so I didn’t get to live with him that much. My dad immigrated to U.S.A when I was 5 years old, but I still lived with my mom. Then, my sisters immigrated to Portugal to start college. After that, my mom met my stepdad and I started living with both of them. He is a nice guy, who loves me and cares about me. I remember him bringing me to school every day and picking me up also. After school he used to help me with school work and homework. He also used to teach me some words in English. My stepdad and my mom are actually the ones who took care of me in Cape Verde. I don’t have enough good words to thank my stepdad for all the amazing things and advice he has given to me. He’s always been there for me when I needed him. He gives me advice every single day and he wants to see me get all kinds of good opportunities in life. I love him from the bottom of my heart.

After my dad decided to bring me to America for a better life and have more opportunities, I immigrated to America and I live here now with my dad. I started 4th grade here in the U.S.A. One of my main goals is to graduate from high school and be able to go to college and become a midwife. Another dream I have is to help the people that gave me such good advice and the people that helped me reach all my goals in my life. For example: my stepdad, my dad, and my mom. I’d like to provide them a comfortable life as a way to thank them for everything they have done to support me.

I’m also definitely joining my school’s ROTC program, and thinking of joining the National Guard, maybe even hopefully starting when I am still in high school, if that is allowed. This is something that I’m interested in and I like a lot. It makes me feel proud to be a part of a group that works to help the community, and it also helps keep students on the right path and disciplined, because some kids don’t always get that benefit.

I’m a very nice person that loves to help people. I like school and I also like studying. I believe that the only way to achieve my goals is through hard work and a lot of effort.

Started from the bottom... Now we are here!

When I was a kid I was learning to play baseball. Baseball was always my favorite sport and still is, but it wasn’t my first sport. My first sport I ever played was football. I started playing football at 8 years old. It was fun I was the quarter back and the running back. I soon quit and then started my baseball career. I thought it was tough going from a full contact sport to just a ball and a bat but I stuck with it. The first year was really bad I wasn’t very good. I was an outfielder and a bench warmer, I didn’t play much but I had fun. My team went to the playoffs and we lost because I struck out so I was mad at myself for a while . I really didn’t hit much, so I had a lot of work to do during the off season. So the summer came I put in a lot of work and I became more talented. So the second year came I started as a pitcher, third base, and first base. I was very good on the field and I was very impressed with myself. My batting increased more than anything, I was batting at a 500 average. I hit my first homerun off one of the best pitchers and I was the only one that hit a homer off of him! I made the all-star team and I was the pitcher and first baseman. When we went to get our trophies all the coaches were so surprised on how much I had improved. Then the third year come and I was the first pick, so I went to the team local 59. That team was my favorite team ever. I was the first- baseman there too, I was also a catcher and a pitcher but I didn’t start out at those positions I was an outfielder and it was all right but it wasn’t the position I wanted to play. So I talked with my coach and he said ‘’whatever position you are in is the position you worked for”. Then I worked for pitcher and first baseman and I got it! The next year I was staring first base and pitcher. My team made it to the championship with a record of 10 and 14. We had just made it and we played two teams and knocked them out of the playoffs that left just my team and a team we never beat before. So this was the championships. The first game of the series we lost, then the second game we won. Its best 3 out of 5 games. So it was 1 and 1 & the third game we won which left us in the lead. One more win and we go to city championships! We WON!!! The last game with a walk of grandslam and we were all so happy and we had never beaten them in the regular season so we just pushed our hardest and we did it. Out of all my years of baseball all I wanted was a championship trophy and I got it! All you need to do is start from the bottom and pick yourself up. Me and my team made it because we started from the bottom now we’re here! Thanks for reading leave comments! Tysean D. (#45) P, 1b, C

My dream--the college experience

My name is Gylmara Gomes but people usually call me Gigi because it’s easier to say. I’m from Cape Verde, a country made up of islands off the coast of Africa, and mine is called Brava Island. My dream is to graduate from high school and then go to college and become a pediatric nurse. I would like to be a pediatric nurse because I like to take care of kids and I think that will be fun and rewarding.

 In order to accomplish my goal in becoming a nurse I need to work hard in high school and end up with a good GPA so that I can be accepted into a good nursing program at a great college. I also think I want to become a nurse because my mother always said she wanted to be a nurse. Unfortunately she passed away when I was one year old. So she didn’t reach her goal and that’s one main reason why I want to become a nurse--to accomplish my mom’s dream. After becoming a pediatric nurse I’d like to help my family and friends as well. I’d like to provide my family with a comfortable life because they are the ones who support me. Fortunately, nurses make a great living, and there are plenty of jobs available, so I won’t have to worry about job-searching or not being able to provide for my family, both money-wise and if they get sick or hurt.

 Right now this is what I want to do but who knows, it might change when I go to high school or to college. I know I need to work hard and to stay in school.

The Death Tunnel at Fort Tabor

The graffitti on the wall when you first go in

There is a tunnel at Fort Tabor that kids like to go in and explore. It is rumored to be haunted for a couple of reasons. For example, one of the reasons is that when you go in you hear a lot of strange noises, but the thing is that there are no rats, or other animals that go in there. So where do the noises come from? Another reason that it is rumored to be haunted is because there is a little alley that people go in and think that it gets darker the further you go in. The last and most popular reason that people think the tunnel is haunted is because people have died in there. The people that died in there were soldiers from long ago and also a 10 year old boy.

My story begins on a regular summer day when I was with my friends Tysean, Alex, Jeo, and Joshua. We were all talking and Alex says out of nowhere to me and Joshua “have you ever been in the tunnel?” I said to him “what tunnel?” He told me the one at Fort Tabor. I said to him “I have never been in that tunnel” and Joshua said “that he doesn’t even know what tunnel we were talking about.” Then Tysean started telling me about the tunnel and how it is dark and haunted. So Alex said that if we go in we are going to have to get flashlights. After a while I asked my mom to take us to the store and get flashlights and we all got one at the store. Then my mom drove us to Fort Tabor. However, I didn’t tell her that we wanted the flashlights to go and explore the tunnel. I told her that we were just going to walk around the beach and go to my friend’s house.

When we got there Alex and Joshua were rollerblading and Alex stopped at a bench and took off his rollerblades and put on his shoes. But when Joshua reached in his bag, his shoes weren’t there. He said, “I left my shoes at home.” Then Jeo said, “Are you serious? Are you still going to go in the tunnel? because if not we came here for nothing.” Joshua still went in even though it was hard for him to walk in there with all the rocks and trash.

To get into the tunnel we first came to a fence and had to climb through a hole to get in. We stood there shocked to see that there was graffiti covering every inch of the walls. Then when we looked straight ahead there was a light and we started walking toward the light, when we saw a place where we had to turn right. When we turned it got really dark so we turned on our flashlights and started walking down the tunnel. We were walking down the tunnel and we were looking for stuff like dead bodies and old objects. We were looking for dead bodies because we had heard a rumor that a ten year old kid had died in the tunnel. We were going in rooms looking around and kept scaring each other. After exploring for a while we all met up and we heard a noise. We knew that it wasn’t any of us making the noise because we were all together. We all decided it might be time to leave and Joshua and Jeo started running out. All of us were scared, but they were more scared then the rest of us, so when they saw the light they both ran towardd the light. Joshua was on rollerblades so it was hard for him to run and then Jeo either tripped on a rock or on Joshua’s rollerblade. No one knows exactly what happened, but either way Jeo tripped on something and hit his head on a rock!!! Me, Alex, and Tysean all ran to Jeo because all we saw was him fall to the ground. When we got to him he sat up and we saw a lot blood dripping off his face. We knew we had to leave quickly and we couldn’t go back through the tunnel because it would take too long. So all of us followed Alex on a path over the tunnel. When we got off of the path we got back to the front of the tunnel where the hole in the fence was. We started walking around looking for someone to gives us a ride to Jeo’s house. In the meantime we told him to take off his sweater and to cover the hole that the blood was coming from on his head. We helped him wrap his sweater around his head. We finally came across a complete stranger that we didn’t even know and asked him to give us a ride back to Jeo’s house. We started to get nervous because when we were in the car Jeo started dozing off to sleep! I actually had to keep on shaking his body so he could stop dozing off.

When we got to Jeo's house his mom saw all the blood on his face and started screaming. We didn’t want any of us to get in trouble, so we had to lie to his mom and tell her that Jeo hurt himself jumping on the rocks when he tripped and hit his head. Luckily his mom believed our story and she took him to the hospital. He ended up having to get 5 or 6 stitches!! He even had to wear a wrap around his head for a whole month.

Today Jeo is doing well. So that’s my story behind the Fort Tabor death tunnel. I have never been in the tunnel since that day, but I still hear kids telling rumors that it is haunted. There is also a new rumor that that little right turn that we took gets darker every single day. Maybe I will take a chance and go in the tunnel again….just to explore one more time. Hopefully nothing bad happens this time. I’ll keep you posted!!

Kenny M.
Roosevelt Middle School.

My Past, Present, and Future

My 1st time going to the Dominican Republic

My first time visiting my family or even going to the Dominican Republic was 2 years ago--on July 6, 2011. I was really nervous because it was my first time there and I didn’t know my family that lived there that well.

When I got there with my dad & my aunt Sabrina were waiting for us so that we could go to her house. When I got to her home, my two cousins Yasmine and Shaimara were there. They were so nice to me. I started to feel better once I got to know them a little bit and I became happier because I was having the funnest time. I feel like I really got to know my family better.

I went to the beach and to the stores. It was fun because there were tire swings.  Even though I fell a few times (because I was standing),  I got up, laughed and kept going.  My family was very sweet, respectful, and fun. I actually remember running after the sheep and riding horses while I visited too. At times I felt homesick because I missed my mom, sister, and brothers, even though I was with my dad.

That was only my 1st visit to the Dominican Republic!!!!! Hopefully I'll get to go back again someday soon!!

Michelle I.
Keith Middle School
New Bedford, MA

My visit to Florida by Christian R.

One day I went to Orlando Florida, I went there just to see my dad and go to Disney. We had a lot of fun there, I liked the hulk, cheetah Simpson and the harry potter ride. I got to the air plane at 3:30am I took off at 4:00am and I got to Orlando Florida at 5:00am when I got there I saw my dad I gave him the biggest hug ever cause I never seen him for my whole life. When we got home we took shower and we went to the mall he bought me everything I want to. He bought me clothes and when we got home he gave me a haircut and I got all nice and fresh. Then we went to Disney universal we saw a lot of crazy stuff like a dinosaur in the water we saw mad roller coaster I want to get on every single one. The first roller coaster I want to get on was this one called rock it that was crazy it was in the dark. The other one I want to get on was the hulk roller coaster it goes mad fast and last but not least the cheetah roller coaster but after all that me and my dad took time to talk about a lots of stuff personal stuff. We cry we laughed we got mad we got sad but we end up being happy.

Six Flags by Manny S.

One summer day I went to six flags. I went there on July, 4 2013. When I went there I decided to go on the bizzaro, batman, mind eraser, the scream, and the goliath. Before I went to those roller coasters, I went to the flashback. It was very fun! Later I went on the mind eraser, the scream, bizzaro, and the batman. All that was left was the goliath! I was really freaked out! Then it was my turn to go on.

As soon as I got on, I heard every one screaming. At that moment I didn’t know what to do. As they were pulling us back, the screaming got louder. Then we got to the top. Next thing I know we were going super-fast. Then we arrived to the other end. After we got to the top we did the whole thing backwards. When we were done, I was happy to go on it. That was my trip to six flags!

MY BIG EXPERIENCE!

CRASH!! Where’s little Denzen!?! Oh, he’s already at the playground. I thought he got hit. Guess what happened. I ALMOST got in a car crash. So this is what happened…

 I was in New Bedford one day visiting my grandmother, and she decided we should go to the park. So my baby cousin Denzen , my little sister Josie, my little brother Flavio , my older brother Claudio, my cousin Zenden, my grandmother and I all got in the car and drove to the park. Then when we got to the park everybody got out the car.  We took at least two steps towards the park, and we heard a huge crash and people screaming.

When I looked behind me I saw my cousin Zenden on the floor. He was on the floor because right when the other car hit ours he was closing the door and the pressure of the other car pushed him to the ground. Then we noticed that my baby cousin wasn’t in sight!

We started calling his name really loud but still couldn’t find him. Then my little sister and I started crying until we turned around and saw him going down the slide on the playground. I told him to come here and hold my hand so we wouldn’t lose him again.

When the police came there was an ambulance, fire truck and a crowd of people behind them. The ambulance took my cousin (the one that fell on the floor) to see if he hurt himself. Later on the police told us that the lady that crashed into our car was drunk and doing her make-up while driving. The people in the ambulance told us my cousin wasn’t hurt and should be completely fine.

I was so happy nobody was hurt. I learned that I should never take my eyes off a 4 year old while there is a park nearby and I should love life while I have it because I could lose it at any moment.

By: Leylani M.

MY PASSION IN LIFE

 My passion in life is to just live it up to the fullest. Many people say that you only live once but to me I think it’s an excuse to do something stupid. No matter what happens in life I try to do things that would help me and others to succeed in life. My life was never easy. Almost dying isn’t fun, being five years old and seeing your life flash before your eyes, was a traumatic experience for me. Getting hit by a car on the street you grow up on and not knowing if you are alive of or dead. This made me realize that I should not take things for granted, because you never know what would happen to you even when you think life is great. Playing cops and robbers with my brother and some friends was pretty fun, but not when a car starts speeding at you it isn’t fun no more. It was hard to recover because I felt useless and I just wanted to just give up. Although you might not want to do things in your life time, you should at least try it because you never know what might happen to you. Being fifteen now I realized life is to short to just blow everything away just because I can’t do something. I just want people to think about the good in their life instead of the bad. Anyone and everyone can make a difference if they choose to. Never think your useless because to tell you the truth life is the best thing that could happen to you. Live it up but don’t live it down!!!! NEVER SAY NEVER. Life is the only thing that makes me keep going when I really want to stop and give up.

BY: Emaunie A.

Broken Bones

I was in pain when I was only four. I was playing baseball with my mom, my mom’s boyfriend, and his parents. While I was playing, I wanted to make a solid swing (of course), so I kept backing up in the batter’s box, which is a strategy that gives batters more time until the ball reaches the plate. I kept backing up and backing up and, before I knew it….I fell off a surprisingly short cement wall. I fell backwards onto a cement pavement surface and basically blacked out from the impact.

The next thing I remember is that I was on the ground crying, and my mom picked me up and brought me to the hospital. We waited almost a full hour all together at the emergency department, which for a head injury seemed like an eternity, until, finally, the doctor we saw said that I had broken my right arm. He also said I was going to have to wear a cast for a few months.

When I got back from the hospital, my mom sat me down on a soft chair and put an icepack near my arm/cast so I would feel better. I had to wear a hard bright pink cast. When I was taking baths it wasn’t hard because I would hold the broken arm out of the water. Six years later I coincidentally broke my other arm by falling on ANOTHER cement surface. I had a very similar experience when I broke my arm when I was four. I didn’t have to participate in my Physical Education class at school for 2 months, which I didn’t mind at all though they just had me sit there with no alternative, non-physical activities.  

Perhaps these experiences are responsible for my lack of desire to play sports in high school, for fun, or anywhere else. Psychologically I will always remember what happened and maybe someday I’ll be ready to try again, but NOT TODAY.

Felicia E.

Horseplay Turns Real

By: Andrew H.

I still remember the awful day as if it were yesterday. I remember the tears, I remember the anger, and I remember the fear. I remember almost every single detail about the nightmare that turned into a reality.  I will probably always remember that day as the absolute worst day of my life.

When I was 10, back when I lived in Fall River MA, I was in the third grade and the day started out like any other. I had to go to school like always and I was expecting it to be an average day. Little did I know I couldn’t have been more wrong.

In class we had a new student. My teacher had to step out of the room to talk to someone and somehow one of my friends and the new student started arguing. When the teacher came back into the room she ended it, but my friend told me he wanted to fight the kid.

After school my friend and I were walking home and the new student was following in our direction, which made my friend start to get angry because he thought that the kid was purposely following us to continue the argument. They started arguing, and sure enough, the arguing actually escalated to them physically fighting. I had never really seen two kids fight before so I didn’t know what to do, so I just watched, and then some man came over and broke it up. My friend went home and I continued to walk home, but yet the new kid was still going the same way as I was and sure enough it turns out he lived right across from me. So as I was just relaxing in my house alone, waiting for my mom to come home from work at around 6:30 like always I heard a knock at my door.

I answered the door and it was the kid with his mom. I was speechless and I couldn’t even think straight because the mom was just shouting at me saying “You’re the one who beat up my son!? I’m going to call the police right now!” I started crying because I was so scared that the police would take me away to juvenile hall. I tried explaining to her that I wasn’t involved in hurting her son, but she just continued yelling and eventually walked off. I was waiting for what seemed like an eternity. I had so many different thoughts in my mind and I was still very anxious.

I was scared of police coming to my house, and of being was all alone with nobody to talk to. I wanted my mom but since she was working, the person I needed most couldn’t be there.. I started to think that maybe the woman didn’t really call the Police maybe she just wanted to scare me. But of course, as soon as I started to get calm and relaxed, there was a knock at my door and it was two policemen.

They started asking me about everything that happened and I finally started feeling like things would be okay. I asked one of the officers if I would have to go to juvenile hall and I felt almost completely better when he said “no”. Then the policemen drove me to my grandmother’s house and I waited for my mom to pick me up. When my mom came the police told her she couldn’t work that long anymore due to my being too young to be alone until 6:30. My mom took me home, and talked to the new kid’s mother. Everything was cleared up, and the kid told his mom that it was only him and my friend fighting and that I wasn’t involved. From that point on, I never had any more problems with that kid, and everything ended up being okay.

Things I Want



BUGATTI




HAWAII




CONNECTICUT MANSION



 

MY TRUE LOVE

 

My true love for music and singing has helped me both learn and enjoy the English language! When I lived in Puerto Rico, at age 5 my father asked me if I wanted a karaoke for a Christmas present I said, “yes!”, and he replied “I will tell Santa to bring you a karaoke.” In the morning when I opened my present, it was only two microphones.  Then after, I took it out of the packaging and found the karaoke machine.  He helped me learn how to use it.  Every time I use the microphone, I feel like a superstar.  I used Spanish music and sang and danced with my cousin and sisters.  We all knew how to dance because we could feel the music.  When I first got it, I loved it so much that I used it every day. We would take it outside and dance in the driveway. 

When we moved to New Bedford from Puerto Rico I couldn’t take my karaoke with me, so my mom bought me a radio with English music. I started to love and listen to English music. From listening and hearing English music it helped me to learn the English language. Then my mom bought me a karaoke and I sang more and but my mom also buy me an mp3 so I can listen to music outside. Also my step dad made a CD so I could sing and dance. In the CD there was both Spanish and English music and I loved all the song that I had. Then when I got to the 7^th grade in my school name Roosevelt Middle School we girls had a tea party and a women name Christina. We were talking and then we were asking questions to each other. Then after she asks me what I wanted to be when I grow up, and when I said that I wanted to be a singer and a dancer she was surprise.  So Christina asked me if I wanted to join in a program of dancing and singing lessons. I jumped and said “yes!” really fast and really excited. I would never say no to a chance like that. I told my mom and she said “congratulations!” to me. I was happy that day. I always wanted to be a singer. I love singing because singing is my life.

I am thankful for the radio because it helped me learn English. I learned how listening to English music when you don’t know English will help you talk and learn the English language.  Also I am very happy because music is everything to me and I sing every day I listen to music every single day.      Music makes me happy. Music is what I love to listen to. I can’t live without music. My singing is very important because my dad was the one who helped me to choose my future. The music feels your heart. Music is my life and the lyrics are my story. Music speaks what cannot be expressed soothes the mind and gives it a rest heal the heart and makes a whole flows from heaven to the soul. One good thing about music it’s that when it hits you, you feel no pain. Music is the only thing that makes sense.

Shanilett Marie D.

Roosevelt Middle School

MY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

My first day of school in United States was really hard. In my first day of school I was scared because I didn’t know anyone there, I had no friend and I didn’t know how to speak English. I came here to live with my father and to study in United States. It was hard to leave my family and to travel to a different country where I had no friends, but the fact of being in my father’s house made me feel more comfortable even though I was missing the other relatives. Due to the fact of being in a school where I didn’t know anyone and didn’t know how to speak English fluently made things much harder for me. I couldn’t understand the teacher’s explanations, I couldn’t participate in the class and I couldn’t do my assignment the way I wished. Also my grades were not that good. Now after one year I am feeling more comfortable, I am learning how to speak English, I can participate in the class, I am able to do my assignments better and my grades are improving. Also I’m getting to know more friends. The lesson that I learn from this experience was that in spite of being in a different school from my country it is great for my future because I know that being here I will have better opportunities to learn. In addition, I can have a great career in the future, I can have a comfortable life and also I will be able to help my family in Cape Verde. I feel that being in an American school will be very helpful to me because here I can learn a lot of things that it is not taught in Cape Verde.

Ariane Monteiro         

    7/16/2013

Dearborn Middle School

ROXBURY, MA

                    

You don’t believe what happened to me when I came to America

On May 1st, 2013 I came to America. I was sad because my mom didn’t come with me. It was hard because my mother was crying a lot and when she cried it upset me very much because there was nothing I could do. The first day I got here I went to my father’s house and there my sisters supported me a lot which made me feel more comfortable. They told me that it was not bad to be here and after some months I would start having friends and having fun over here. 

It was not easy being in a country with a different culture and where I had no friends but the fact of having relatives in America made me feel a little bit more comfortable because I know that they would be always there for me and they would do everything to support me and made me feel at home.  After some months I started getting used with the American culture and the English language itself. Also I started getting to know more people and having a lot of friends.

I know that every time we move to a different country that things are not easy, but in my case I know that being far away from Cape Verde will be helpful to my future. I feel that travelling to America was great because I learned a lot and I can only benefit from it.

I had the opportunity to learn a lot of things that I wouldn’t be able to learn in Cape Verde because here the school provides better opportunities to the students since America is a country richer than mine.  Also here I have the opportunity to not only graduate from high school but also to go to college and have a great career in the future.

celeste c
dearborn middle school

“My Life : Leaving My Old World”

        I Miss My Home. My home Is Providence Rhode, Island. I miss my school so much. I was probably about 7 Years Old when I was moving from Providence to New Bedford, Massachusetts in the year of 2007. This move happened because my dad needed a better job and my aunt told my parents there was a lot of jobs here at New Bedford so my parents accepted it and came. From what I remember about my last day at my elementary school, I was inside having fun, until the time came I had my final goodbye’s from all my friends and I hugged my very special friend, her name was Solimar.  I made sure I hugged her tightly because I may have never see her again ever in my life. I walked home with my mom and saw all the rooms all vacant, clear, and white. Whenever I talked and walked you could hear the echo’s and I l felt like I was on top of a mountain yelling out.  

        But then there was a tragedy which happened to my father! It broke his heart and the pain made him feel like he was being cut into little pieces, like when you drop a glass plate or cup and see them covering the ground. I walked inside into the room he was in to see my dad there with his hands and arms covering his bare face. I looked under his arms and I see him crying, I was wondering why he was. All I could hear and see from him was sniffling and crying. But then I got.

I heard my dad conversing with his family about a family member, and I found out he was talking about his dad the whole time crying in tears for his dad, and I was shocked that my grandfather died even though he was really sick not like having a fever but literally sick that he was already prepared to die and my grandfather and the rest of my family members were in Guatemala the only people I really have here in the United States was my parents, sister, aunt, and cousins and that was pretty much it.

But while my dad in pain I had no idea what to do because I saw my dad as a tuff man! So I came and patted his back gently. After a while of that, we were ready to leave and he was happy to, not in pain anymore because he was hoping for a really good job that we could have! The ride from there to here was too long and boring but we did stop at burger king for some food because I was starting to starve to death! Finally we came to our new home and unloaded the stuff we had inside this huge moving truck and started to put it inside our house and once everything was in there, the house was all clumped and I felt like I was in a jungle! The Sky Was Not in the Bright Light it was dark and scary with the night already capturing, Half of the world.

       I woke up the next day and my mom said she was going to take me to my new school I was a bit scared and didn’t want to go at all I wanted to stay home and rest and be with my family, but my mom insisted me to go. We went to my school it wasn’t really that far I really lived like near the school it was just a five or six minute walk. My mom was at the front office and while we were there all I could think of was my old classmates and my best friend. There was music playing around the whole school and it sounded nice! Finally after a while of waiting we get to go to my class and there were students there standing and looking at me, all million eyes staring at me wondering who I was. I got so scared all I could do was stand next to my mom and the principle was introducing. Everyone waved “Hi” to me and I started to feel comfortable, my mother gave me a big hug kissed me and said to behave well. She left and I wanted to run up to her and leave with her but I didn’t. I got my desk and then I felt awkward all I did was give a tiny wave to the people next to me and a small weak smile. They gave me a huge bright smile and a fast wave like they already liked me. But then it was time to sit on the rug and that reminded me of how I use to do that to at my old school. Literally almost everything reminded me of my old school. Then the teacher told me to introduce myself and I did I said my name was Ashley and I am seven, everyone in the class smiled and gave a warm welcome and I smiled back but this time a bigger wide smile and a hearty wave back to my new fellow classmates. I was so happy and glad that I was going to make new friends and have a good time of the year. I go back home and told my mother what a good day I had. But there was just something missing that me feel a little down and that was my home old home at providence, this house I had made me feel uncomfortable here but I knew I would get used to it. Now it is July 16, 2013, 10:45 A.M I’m Thirteen years old and it has been now seven years that I have not lived back at my old home and see my old school at Providence, Rhode Island.

Old School  

Asa Messer Annex

Providence, RI

                                                                                                                          

New School
Alfred.J.Gomes School
(New Bedford,MA)

Ashley L.H.
Roosevelt Middle School

" An Unforgettable Story "

Before

After

It was in mid-October when it happened. We didn’t expect and we definitely didn’t think it would happen to us. We thought wrong.

“Viviana, it’s time to get up! Hurry or you’re not going to make it to school early,” my mom said. “Ughh I don’t feel like going…I’m so tired… can I just go tomorrow?” I groaned. “NO. You’re not playing that trick on me, young lady, so get ready and head off to school,” she commanded. “Fine” I said. Sometimes you just have to throw in the towel.

I went to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I headed back to my room to pick out an outfit for the day. I picked a pair of blue jeans, a black and white striped shirt and, for shoes, I picked my favorite black Vans. It was kind of chilly that morning, like it sometimes is in the month of October. I grabbed my backpack, stacked my books in it and head out the door. “Bye mammy” I said happily. “Bye, take care” she replied. I shut the door and head out. I started walking all by myself, usually I walk with my friends but I forgot to ask them if they wanted to walk. The streets were getting kind of foggy and it was really quite. For a girl my age I was scared walking alone. There are a lot of dangerous things or people out there, but I tried hard not to pay attention to that. My school was just about 10 minutes away so I continued walking. I got next to the building I was relieved that I made it safe. I saw a lot of other kids walking so I didn’t feel that alone. I made it to class on time. I went straight to my locker to put my belongings in there. I entered that room and I was the first one there. I sat down and just sat there quietly and waited for the other student’s to approach the class. My teacher Ms. Deolivera told us to settle down and to take out or notebooks and write down notes. The class flew by and we had all our classes that are mostly important for our education. After all those classes we had our unified arts class. I like having unified arts because it’s mostly similar to free time but you still get some learning out of it. We were having Ms. Demello at the meantime, Ms. Demello is a really nice person, she make’s teaching fun unlike other teachers, but I love my teacher’s equally. After Ms. Demello’s class we still have one and a half more hours of school left and we go home. I had gym after Ms. Demello’s class. I really don’t enjoy gym that much because you sweat and feel sticky afterwards. But it’s time for me to hit the treadmill and lose weight! Haha!! I’m joking.

Gym went pretty well, but I couldn’t wait to get out of school and go home because I was really tired and I also wanted to play with my best friend outside too. Then, bell finally rung. Everyone rushed to get to their lockers and get their stuff and leave. I took my time because I didn’t want to leave anything behind. “Viviana! Are you walking?” Yeslin said. “Yeah, I am going to--wanna walk with me?” I asked. “Of course that’s what I was going to ask you.” We both headed out the door and continued walking. Yeslin is one of my bestfriends. We’ve known each other since 2^nd grade. She’s a really good friend I can trust her with mostly everything. It was time for her to go because her house was like right around the corner so we both said our bye’s and left. I Walked alone , it wasn’t that bad since there was a lot of people in the street’s I didn’t have anything to worry about. I got home exhausted. I opened the door and there was nobody there. I had to go pick up my brothers from the bus stop. They finally arrived and I took them home. It wasn’t that far away it’s just like 30 seconds of walking, not that bad.We went inside the house and hanged our backpacks up and ate a snack. After that my brothers did whatever they wanted and I went in my room and turned my laptop on. I have this addiction with my laptop, I’m always on this virtual game called “Woozworld.” I’m really addicted to this game which I find really weird. My mom gets mad at me usually because I’m always on it and do nothing but sit there and stare at the screen. I respect what she says because it’s true but I just can’t control it. My mom got home. She came from work and took a shower and cooked dinner. I was pretty hungry since I haven’t eaten anything since lunch at school. My mom served us our food and we ate it all. I thought I was on the laptop too much so I decided to go outside and go downstairs and knock on my best friend’s door and ask her if she wanted to play outside with me. Me and my friend were talking about what we both are going to wear for Halloween since it was only 11 days away , I pretty much had no idea but I was thinking of being a zombie. I was telling her how I been watching YouTube tutorials on how to do zombie make-up. Jacqueline and I had been outside for about 5 hours. It was getting kind of dark out so we decided to play tomorrow. Jacqueline is my best friend. She lives in the same apartment as me but she lives on first floor I live in second. I went upstairs and ate dinner. After that I went on the computer. It was only 7:00 . I’d been on the computer for 2 hours, playing on the “woozworld” for a pretty long time. I shut off my laptop and got ready for bed. My dad arrived home at 10:00. “How was your day Papi?” I said. “It’s good just a lot of hard working how about you?” he said. “Good also are you hungry I’ll give you food since my Mami went to bed?”I replied “Sure thanks” he replied. Me and my dad were talking and talking when we finally decided to go to bed. “Goodnight pappy.” I said. “Goodnight” he replied. I slipped into my pajamas and went to bed since it was a school night and I really needed to get some rest.

It was 12:17..everyone was fast asleep..my parents woke up, they heard a loud alarm coming out of nowhere. “Do you think there’s a fire?” my dad said. “Nonsense, you know how many times that alarm went off and we head downstairs and nothing happens, it could be someone smoking or cooking at this time. Don’t worry it will go away” my mom said. “You’re right—let’s just go to bed” my dad said. 15 minutes later..the alarm wouldn’t stop. “Why wouldn’t the alarm shut up? We should go check outside just in case.” My dad said. “Why, if you go you’ll wake up the kids, it must be something someone pushed?” my mom said. Both of my parent’s stood quite for a moment and the heard the neighbors next door talking and it sounded like they were panicking. “There’s smoke, lets hurry and get out before something happens!” the neighbors next door said. “Fire? There’s a fire?!” both my parents said. My dad got out of bed and opened the door. As soon as he opened the door the smoke came right in. It was pitch black with grey. My parents were shocked. My mom came running into my room and woke me up. “Viviana Viviana wake up!” she yelled. “What now can’t you see I’m sleeping?” I replied with an attitude. “There’s a fire, put your shoes on and go downstairs NOW!” she said. “Fire?! Oh my god there’s a fire?!” I yelled. When I heard what my mom said my voice started squeaking and I couldn’t stop shivering. I got out of bed to go wake up my brother’s. “IVAN,RONNIE,MARVIN! WAKE UPP!” I yelled. They woke up. I explained how there was a fire and they needed to go downstairs immediately. When I went in the living room I opened the door to go outside and when I opened the door smoke came in. SWOOSH! I never pictured the smoke smelling like this. I always pictured smoke like the smell of nothing. I thought wrong. I felt like I was being suffocated by the smoke. I lead my brothers downstairs and told them to stay there. I stood down there with them too. My parents went downstairs also. Then everyone that was living in the building was coming out. Then when my uncle came out he asked my dad “What about your money and all those important stuff” “Oh shoot I forgot them I’ll be right back!” My dad replied. He went upstairs and went to go get it. In my mind I thought he was crazy, I was having a lot of negative thoughts of what would happen to him. “What if the building collapsed?!” I thought. My mom went upstairs also to go get her purse since she had important stuff also. I was shaking so much I couldn’t stop. My brother came up to me and said, “Viviana I forgot my shoes” he said so innocent. “WHAT! What do you mean you forgot them, I told you to bring them! Now your feet are soaking wet from the raining!” I said yelling at him. “I got scared that I was going to die so I came out fast” he said sadly. “Stay here and don’t move--I’ll go get your shoes. I was brave enough to go upstairs and get his shoes. I went upstairs and went into the closet, got what I needed and head out. We were all out, the firefighters finally came. They told us to go into the other side of the street so they can do their job. I saw a firefighter break the window from the basement and when he did that pitch black smoke when everywhere. Then all you see is orange flames going up. The firefighters were trying hard to take it out. But it was really difficult. A lot of people came out of their houses to see what was happening. More Firefighters came and more polices. The street was filled. A special bus came so we can stay in it for a while so we won’t be cold. While this was happening it was raining. The bus drove us around so we can clear our mind and forget about this tragic. When we were in the bus driving around you can see the smoke going to other streets, it was incredible. After that the bus drove us back to our street. We got out of the bus because we were bored inside so we decided to go check if they took out the fire. In fact, the fire was still going. What really hurt me was knowing we won’t be getting our stuff back. Knowing that we won’t have our house again. All we worked for..will be gone. I saw my mom tearing up. And Jacqueline’s mom also. I felt bad in the inside. I wanted to cry also, I tried hard not to. After that, a truck came. They told us if we got hungry to go and get some food. My friend Jacqueline and I were sad. We knew we were going to lose everything except for family. My mom told me that it’s okay that we lose everything because we’ll always earn it back today because your life is worth more than anything and once it’s gone there will be no way you’ll ever earn it back. Few hours passed by, the Red Cross came. They had us sign up so they can take us to the shelter to stay for a few weeks until we find some place to stay. At that time I didn’t want anything. I was really depressed I was going through a tough time. When we got to the shelter they gave us towels, soap, food, tooth brush, shampoo etc. The Red Cross workers gave us a credit card worth $2000 so we can go buy clothes and things we needed. We went to target and got everything we needed, school supplies, clothes. After all that we returned back to the shelter. I took a shower I ate and got ready for bed. The next morning I didn’t want to go to school. I didn’t feel like doing anything because of what happened. Then few minutes later I hear a beeping outside. I see a familiar car. It was my best friend Laura. She came to visit me and take me to school. As you can see she was really worried about me and wanted to know if I was okay. She brought hair spray and everything so I can get ready for school. I decided to go to school because if I wasn’t going to go then my best friend Laura brought her mom here for nothing. I hopped in the car and left. In the car Laura kept staring at me and said if I was really okay. “Are you sure you okay Viviana? Just tell me I know you’re not.” She said. “I’m sure” I replied. She did my hair on the way to school and we finally go in front of the building. I was getting butterflies in my stomach. I was really embarrassed to enter the building because I thought people would make fun of me and ask me questions. I got out the car and kids were looking at me..i didn’t feel bad for them, I felt bad for myself. When we got inside the school Laura had to go upstairs since that’s where her classes are and my classes are on the first floor. I went to my locker and placed my belongings inside and opened the door to go to homeroom. The kids looked at me weird. They didn’t know what happened to me, it made me feel better that they don’t know. After that my friend Yeslin came up to me and told me she knows what happened to me. “Viviana I know what happened to your house. I seen it this morning,” she said. “yeah..Dont say anything.” I said back. We walked up to our classes. What made me happy was that we had Ms. Demello’s class first period. While we settle down in class more and more kids came up to me. I felt like I was going to cry. Ms. demello came up to me and said if I was okay. When she asked me that I told her what happened. She said she was really sorry. When I heard her say that. That’s when I lost it. I broke down crying in my desk. The kids in my class were looking at me. They just stood quite. Ms. Demello told me if I wanted to go to another room and talk it out, but I preferred not to. Everywhere I went the kids would be looking at me. I just ignored them, even though it killed me inside. Finally the school day was over. I decided to go walking all the way to downtown which was about one hour long, but It really didn’t matter. Life didn’t matter to me anymore. While I was walking I decided to go through my street and see if the fire was put out. Matter in fact the fire fighters were still there trying to put it out. I just stood there staring at my house having flashbacks and all the good memories I had there. I finally got to the shelter. My mom was there sitting down on the chair and asked me if everything went well at school. I lied to her and said everything went perfectly fine. She was happy when I said that. My family members came to visit us at the shelter. They told us if we needed anywhere to stay for while we could stay with one of them. My mom said that she will think about it because she didn’t want to be a bother. The day went by fast so I had to go to bed again. The next morning I went to school and I had the same class as yesterday for first period. When I entered Ms. Demello’s class she wanted to talk to me, so she took me outside and we talked. She told me to give her my size of my clothes and shoes. She said she was going to buy me clothes for school. I was happy about that but I felt like she was going to use her money just for clothes when she could spend it on something more important. She told me that she wanted to buy me clothes. She gave me the clothes the next day. I told her I was very grateful for what she done for me. She said I didn’t have to thank her. I did anyway. I got back to the shelter and my mom told me we were going to live in a hotel for a while, the red cross gave us 2 weeks to stay in a hotel and they gave us 2 weeks of free food at McDonald’s and we could eat anything we want. The hotel we stayed in was really nice. I enjoyed the food at McDonald’s. At that time we were on vacation from school. Every time I go to bed I always think about what happened and wish that it would never happened to me. When those 2 weeks were over we decided to move in with our cousins for a while. It was really crowded in my cousin’s house, but it was kind of better than the shelter. There were 10 people in the house and there were only 3 rooms so we had to share. My parents and I slept in the living room. We didn’t mind. Few days went by and it was Halloween I was excited, but not that excited. My 3 brothers and I, and my dad went trick or treating, it was so much fun. About 4 months went by and my parents found an apartment to live in. We moved in the apartment. After that we moved out few weeks later. The apartment was all good except the people that lived there. They were drug dealers. We knew it was bad to live in a house filled of those. They also broke into our house and stole everything we bought. When that happened, that’s when we decided to move out. After that situation we found another apartment to live in. we also moved out of that one because it was too small and the people next door were bad people and would always make noise. Finally, we found an apartment to live in and that’s where we stood all along. The landlord lives downstairs and everything is protected. They are really nice with us, its big we have our own rooms. I also liked it because it was 1 street away from where my house burned down. Whenever I want to see it, I’ll always daydream of every good memory I had there. It might seem like it was nothing serious but for me it was. Whenever people ask me what happened I don’t mind telling them. It was a huge situation that impacted my life. The thing is, I never pictured it happening to me. We earned everything back, step by step. The important thing is that me and my family are all alive. Your life is more important than anything in the world. For a girl my age I think I went through a lot. But look at me now. I’m alive, healthy , and still happy. I will never forget this day. It would always be remembered in my heart. So now it’s time to forget the past and move on.

- Viviana M.
From Roosevelt Middle School.

Started from the bottom

When I was in third grade I played for a basketball team called the Lakers. Our W/L record was 2-13. We seemed like we were terrible because during all the games we really didn’t seem to want to try. There were only four teams so everyone got to play in the playoffs even though we were the “worst”

          Once the playoffs came we were fired up. We didn’t let the other team pass us once during the game. We won the game and I really wasn’t surprised because I knew my team had that potential. During the game I got to the free throw line a lot and I made a lot of shots. Everyone was pretty surprised on how well I did.

         

          Once the championship came around we were really nervous.  We tried our hardest and everyone was able to see how good our team really was. We did incredible. The crowd was screaming. I couldn’t even hear my teammates because of the crowds. It was an amazing experience.

          By, Frank H.