Journal

1) Write a paragraph about a girl named Dot, but use no letters with a dot (i, j)

I am Dot. I am 16 years old. I don’t remember who my parents are. The reason? I’ve been lost for 8 years. Where am I exactly? I don’t know that, but I do know that I am somewhere near Alaska or Canada. You may not understand how I am not dead yet. I’ll tell you. I am a wolf now. My new parents are wolves. They saved me before. They fed me, loved me, cared for me, and protected me. I have to repay them.

Many people are scared of wolves because of rumors that are fake. Rumors like wolves are dangerous, bad, and murderers. Only a handful of people have seen wild wolves. How many of those people were hurt? Maybe the wolves that hurt them were only scared, hurt, unwell, or hungry? Wolves are very shy. They are lovely creatures. I love them so much. Try to remember that when you say they are bad creatures.

2) Free write.

I have used this to talk about my class in my old school. Teda International School was really small. Compared to KIS, it is a speck there are about 300 students and teachers there.

There were 2 grade 6 classes. Grade 6 is considered Upper Primary at TIS. There were about 27 students in both classes. First, I will tell you about the boys and girls in 6a and then the people in 6b.

As I look at photo of our class, a smile spreads across my face. There is Johnny Daniel and David, people who I never really knew, and Gui who was a bit annoying. Okay, really annoying. He was the one who always came up with gross things. Then there’s Jung Min who was the sporty type. He loved basketball and soccer. Don’t forget Ji Han the crazy guy. He wasn’t that good at school, but he was funny. The girls of 6a changed my life. There is Tina(Christina) the popular yet a little mean kind of person. Lisa is the kind of amazing girl that influences you. She was quiet and kind-hearted. She always was nice to you and she was a friend to everyone. Ginny was kind but nobody really liked her. She was rejected by the other Koreans. She hung onto us for the last bit of the year. She grew kinder and then she was with her Korean friends again she comes and talks to me and my friends. She wasn’t fully trusted but she was happy to be with people she really knew. Hera was a quiet kind of person. With a big heart but not much to say. Betty was a remarkable friend that I would have liked to know better. Then there are 2 people I will never forget. My best friends. Anna and Maddy. A Russian, Australian and a Canadian hanging out. Maddy was really tall and she was amazing at basketball and netball. We had our ups and downs and she tended to lie and had a mean streak. Anna is the kind of person that you would love the first time you see her. She was smart, kind, funny and athletic. She is a once-in-a-lifetime friend.

6a is my homeroom. Xi Yao was a quiet person that there’s not much to say about him. Matt loved basketball and knew everything about it. Saul was so quiet there is nothing else to say. Jack was Lisa’s twin and they were really different. Jack was the gross guy along with a few others. Jae Won loved sports and hated school. Han Rong was the class clown. Tony was “The Tall Athletic Guy and Sports Freak.”Sepher was definitely the most disgusting, annoying person I have ever know. The girls of 6b are my role models. Sophie, the quiet girl from Denmark was an amazing girl. She was new but so nice and understanding Min Jeong who was also known as Gloria, was one of a kind. She was so clever, intelligent, and kind. Alice was so amazing. If you heard her sing, you would be enchanted. Juliana was one of the most amazing people I have ever known. She tried so hard and and was always positive. She helped me through hard times and was a remarkable person. The people of 6a and 6b helped me in so many ways. Everything was preparing me for today.

Whether it was Ji Han and Jack’s dances to Matt’s random, hilarious answers to questions, or the Chinese teachers dreaded dictations, everything prepared me for the day I would attend KIS. Thank you TIS. I have enjoyed my time with the Teda. I enjoyed cheering on the Comets when our tiny school won 1st place. I have not been on many sports teams, but because I spent so much time with them, I feel like I am one of them. I went to almost every volleyball game and was always cheering them on. I may have left Teda physically, but I am still there spiritually. I love TIS, it’s campus, students, teachers, the zoo, and especially the animals. I will continue to support TIS and I hope others will as well.

Prompt #3 Describe someone who is bored. Use no form of the word yawn, sigh, and stared.

He sits in front of me, forever bored by the teachers seemingly endless talk. Face blank and expressionless, he seems unreal. Occasionally, he shifts position, sometimes surprising other people around him. His head on his desk, he sometimes falls asleep. What does he dream about? Nobody knows. He wakes up and his interesting, fantasy world vanishes. Head in his hands, he mumbles something. He seems to be a mannequin, frozen, with a blank face. His eyelids droop, mouth and nose rarely move. He looks ahead, with his head in his hands. He seems like a different person. Thinking about nothing because there isn’t anything to think about, he seems to be in a trance.

Prompt #4 The Green Cat was created by Pablo Picasso. It is on the board in the back of the room. It has green fur and red eyes. It is kind of curled up. It looks like it is watching anyone that looks at it. It is very unique and interesting. It is famous. The cat was well drawn or painted. There is some turquoise in its fur to give it figure. It has different shades of green fur.

Prompt #6 A dark figure treads through the snow, forcing himself through the storm. Back against the wind, the figure treads on. Clearly struggling to move on, the half frozen figure of a man pushes through the snowstorm. I shouted at the figure, closer now, but my voice was lost through the angry roar of the storm. The figure is clearly male. He falters for a moment, then falls. I run toward him, the huge drifts of snow slowing me down. It seems like it took an hour for me to get to the man. He is shivering, teeth chattering even through his thick, water-proof jacket. The man has frostbite, a mild case though. However, in a snowstorm as severe as this, it could quickly change into a bad case, possibly killing the muscles in his fingers, toes, or any exposed skin. You can really see the might and power of this creation of nature. The howling, wailing wind and the snow that cuts like a hot knife, all of it makes this snowstorm.

The man is very sick. He has pneumonia, a very bad thing in weather like this. The poor man, he is like me, stuck in the storm, looking for shelter. The snow has piled up so high, nobody can open their doors, and nobody really wants to. It is so sad. Nature makes beautiful, amazing things, yet also terrible, cruel creations. The howling of the blizzard seems to cease and I can see a small barn not to far away. It will require a little patch of snow here and there, but there is enough shelter for a fire. There is some hope left, at least.

Prompt #7 Make a list of 40 things that happened to you this month. They can be funny, embarrassing, happy or infuriating. Then pick one and write about it.

1. I used my dog as a scarf. 2. I slammed into a telephone pole. 3. I missed China for the first time. 4. I was in in a school bigger than I am used to. 5. I had more friends than students in my old class. 6. I nearly breathed fire when I ate something spicy. 7. I was on my bed with my dog. Then the dog got bored and left. 8. I was attacked by a vicious dog that is smaller than my head. 9. I dropped a book on my foot during class. 10. I fell down the stairs. 11. I realized that I am terrible at typing. 12. I visited my mothers old students. 13. I was given artwork by my mothers students. 14. I watched TV in my own house for the first time in 3 years. 15. I watched movies on Youtube. 16. I set up my room in my house. 17. I rode the bus to school. 18. I washed the dirty dishes. 19. I learned how to do my own laundry. 20. I emailed my friends in China. 21. I set up a Facebook account. 22. I took my dog for 20 walks. 23. I was in living in Korea for the first time. 24. I ate tons of Korean food. 25. I played basketball without hurting my finger. 26. I watched movies in my mothers' classroom until 5:00. 27. I ate cherry gum a lot. 28. I went to a foreign grocery store. 30. I wrote stories. 31. I did 2 science experiments. 32. I ate pizza near my house. 33. I looked at old photos. 34. I watched my sister set something on fire. 35. I dressed my dog up in a hat and scarf. 36. I fell asleep on the bus. 36. I watched Harry Potter 2 twice. 37. I studied for an hour for a Chinese quiz. 38. I did a math quiz and did alright on it. 39. I went to Cosco. 40. I got a Mac.

34. I watched my sister set something on fire. About that, well it's not what you think. Here's what happened. My mom was out at school and my sister and I were at home. We were hungry and were going to grill something in the oven. It was new and we didn't know how to to use it. Everything, including the manual and machine, were in Korean. So my sister brought her boyfriend over to translate. He wrote everything down in the manual. My mother put the manual in the oven itself and left it there. My sister turned the oven on to heat, without checking inside, and went to have a shower. I sat down to watch TV. About 10 minutes later, a thick smoke was curling into the living room. I shouted at my sister and she came out of the bathroom, without a shirt on.

My sister's instincts kicked in. She ran to the sink and filled a dirty pot of water and gave it to me. Arming herself with an oven mitt, she opened the oven and pulled out a flaming book. Coughing, she told me to extinguish the flames. The flames hissed while I poured water on them. Half coughing half laughing, "we said what will we tell mom?'' I still laugh when I think about it. Mom didn't seem too angry, which was good. We kept the burnt book and the oven wasn't harmed.

Prompt #8 Write a paragraph about a cat attacking something, but don't use hiss, scratch or pounce.

It's a cute little cat, with golden brown fur. There are a few streaks of black and red in its beautiful coat. It looks up at me with those amazing golden eyes. I scratch behind its ears. It lets out a purr. If I had known that the cat was a little devil, I would've run from that place as faster than anything. It then hurls itself at me, spitting and clawing. It rips part of my jeans off, making me bleed. The cat's nails catch on my shoe and they rip the leather.

I have tried everything to make it stop biting and clawing. None of it seems to work. I run and hide but the devil-cat still finds me. The cat isn't like this to other people. It's not fair! The cat meows and then crawls under the couch. I don't fall for it. The cat will just hurl itself at my feet. At the last moment I move my feet. The evil cat slams into the table. It spits all over me. This isn't a cat, it's a monster.

Prompt #9 Free write My school is called T.I.S. which stands for TEDA International School. It is a tiny school with only 300 students and staff. The biggest classes only have twenty or thirty students. There are sometimes two split classes if the class is twenty or more students. I have gone to T.I.S. for six years. It used to be ninety percent Korean students, but now it is about fifty. There are only two or three Chinese families, and they are very rich. There are only a few fluent English speakers. Being around people not speaking correct English really depleted my English-speaking skills. T.I.S has it's flaws but it is the best school I've been to so far.

People ask children why they hate homework. I don't think it's because it takes effort. I think it is because kids and teenagers want to be doing something else like playing or going out. Most kids would rather watch TV or play games.
 * 1) 10 Free write

If someone asked a grown-up to either go out and do something fun or do housework, most would go out. It's the same with kids. Children see homework as work like chores because it takes effort, time, and energy. Most kids love to play the best way to learn is to play. A lot of times my friends mother will come into my friend's room while I'm there and say "why are you playing, not studying or learning?" We are learning, in a different way. We are learning to be creative.

I think creativity is one of the most important virtues. You use it for many things. Most kids will pay attention when they are learning the fun way. They are more interested and will remember that. I think even teenagers like to learn the fun way. Nobody likes a boring teacher. Teachers give homework that kids think is boring or there isn't a point in learning it. I like to do fun homework. I think everybody does.

Prompt #11

Fatima is a very spoiled teenage girl. Show that she is spoiled, by describing what happens when she doesn’t get a car for her birthday.

“But I only have 40 cars! Five Ferraris, all in assorted colors, 3 hummers, 1 red, 1 yellow and 1 pink with white polka dots, 7 BMWs, 2 pink, 1 purple with my signature, and 4 green with turquoise and red stripes, 10 Jaguars, all red and black, 5 Mercedes, all with green, red, pink, purple and blue stripes, 4 cheap SUVs, all cream colored, and 6 Lamborghinis, that’s all I have! I need that set of 10 Porches! How am I going to fill up that 7 story parking lot you gave me for my 12 birthday?,” said Fatima, “You don’t care about me at all!”

“Fatima....” her father tried to say. But Fatima had already slammed the door and went to her room. Rooms, with an “s”. She had 46 of them. 6 bathrooms and spas, 3 bowling alleys, 4 bars, 2 dinners, all serving her favorite food, 2 gyms, 3 walk-in closets as big as her parents room, 5 huge dressing room, as big as three football fields, 6 guest rooms, 3 bedrooms, 1 squash court, 1 basketball court, 2 malls, 1 private zoo and safari, 3 fun rooms, and 4 storage rooms.

Fatima was spoiled rotten. She had friends payed to be friends. There were tutors hired to do her homework, people to go to school for her and a lot of other people that served Fatima. But, sadly, Fatima didn’t appreciate her parents’ gifts. She wanted more. Last week, she saw a car that she loved, and when Fatima saw something she loved, you better buy it for her. If you didn’t, you better watch out. Fatima wouldn’t care if she owned the world, she would still want more. Fatima loved to spend money. So much, in fact that one of her shopping malls was full of her stuff. She would buy her own things. She didn’t care. Her allowance was 50 million a day. The people who worked in that mall were well payed. They didn’t have to pay Fatima back. Yes, life was sweet for those that worked for her. But, according to Fatima, she did all the work, and that is why she wanted the car so badly.

“Well, she was good this year.” said her father to Fatima’s mother.

Prompt #12 Describe what you feel right now using your sense of smell. If you feel frustrated, write abut what your frustration smells like. Use vivid words. Don't skimp on adjectives.

I feel tired. It smells like a lot of things. It doesn't smell very strong. It smells like things that don't have a lot of smell. Being tired doesn't have just one smell, it has too many too count. Those smells are all put together to make a soft, relaxing smell. This smell makes me feel tired.

Tiredness smells like pillows and fresh things. It smells like rain and clean air. I like the smell. Being tired smells like cold air and snow mixed with the smell of new books that have never been opened. It smells like new tissues and other soft smells. I think this smell is better than other smells. Being tired smells like new, clean things. It smells like my dog after a bath or fresh vegetables. It's smell unique.

Smells are all unique. Although being tired doesn't have a strong smell, it is very recognizable.

Prompt #13

What kind of cartoon show might appeal to the overage 65 audience? Imagine the show. Then, in 100 words or less, describe the main show and its main character.

Maybe the older people would like funny animals or people. In my show, the main character is a dog named Jo Jo. This dog is really silly because she slams into the wall a lot when she runs and she she is really naughty. She is a small dog and she is really hyper. She loves to "attack" you and knock you down. She is sometimes bad. Jo Jo hurts herself a lot. She likes to run around the house and slam into walls and other things. Jo Jo plays with the landlord and then knocks him out and the landlord gets angry.

Prompt #14 Electricity is a recent discovery. Think of 12 things to do when there is no power. 1. You can tell really scary or funny stories with your family or friends. 2. You can play Murderer in the Dark. 3. You can play cards by candlelight. 4. You can watch movies on your computer until the battery dies. 5. You can go shopping if there are any stores near your house. 6. You can play with your pet if you have one. 7. You can call your friends. 8. You can go visit a friend. 9. You can go to sleep. 10 You can talk to your family. 11. You can write a story. 12. You can read if it isn't night-time. Prompt #15 Place this sentence in a paragraph were it will make sense: Bea had never before wanted to be a bee.

Bea had never before wanted to be a bee. She would probably never want to be. Bees are just dumb little insects that fly around stinging people. Bea knew that.

On her fifth birthday, while she and her friends were playing games outside, a bee stung her on her nose. It hurt, it was itchy, and it looked like she had a giant nose. The only good part was that she got to eat strawberry ice cream and get presents, and, best of all, (except for the ice cream), she got to stay home. Her mother had simply said, “No child of mine is going to sit in a chair for eight hours, learning boring things and being laughed at by the other children. No, Bea is going to stay at home. With a mother’s loving care, she’ll be good as new, if not better, in a few days. It took three days for the swelling to go down. Then another two days to stop it hurting. Bea hated bees.

Bea loved all insects except for bees. She was terrified of them. Her brother was quite different. He loved bees and hated anything else. Bea never wanted to be a bee.

Prompt #16 List 10 things you usually do on a rainy day. Pick from your list and free write for 5 minutes. 1. I watch movies. 2. I read a book. 3. I do homework. 4. I e-mail my friends. 5. I play with my dog. 6. I talk with my family. 7. I sleep for half the day. 8. I go on Facebook. 9. I watch the rain. 10. I make up stories. I have one dog named Jo Jo. She is small and cute and, sometimes, really funny. She is naughty and loves to play. Jo Jo is funny because when she plays with her toys, she shakes her head and growls. Sometimes, if you watch her, she will look up at you with her big eyes, as if to say "Hey! I wasn't doing anything!" She loves to hang around your neck like a scarf if you're sitting down. She is a lot of work, but she's worth it.
 * 1) 5. I play with my dog.

Prompt #17 Write a rhyme paragraph. Each sentence must begin and end with each the words that rhyme with each other. An example: Spring is a wonderful thing. Flowers start to sprout with the help of rain showers.

My dog is as big as a fly She's lucky she doesn't have fleas. Bites she does, but rarely gets into fights. This dog won't give you a kiss. She'll rather play with a banana peel. This dog lives a life of bliss.

Prompt #18 Free Write My best friend is Anna. She was with me during the hardest times of my life. She was faithful, and always there for me. She helped me a lot. We didn’t have any fights at all. She cared about me. She was the best friend I ever had. She was always encouraging me to make friends with the other girls in our class. She knew me well, so she could understand my feelings. The last day of school was the saddest, hardest day of my life, but Anna was there with me.

Prompt #19 Use this metaphor to spark a poem: a chest of childhood. A Chest of Childhood Dreams

When I was a child, I had many hopes and dreams. As I grew older, I locked them up, In a chest of dreams.

I can see these dreams, At any given time. I now can recall, My chest of dreams.

I once had a dream, when I was young, To be a mad scientist. Now I can be a scientist, Without the "mad" part.

I once dreamed, as a young child, To be a treasure hunter. I now can be one, But I don't want to.

I dreamed of many things, Throughout my childhood. Aliens, rocket scientists, actors, brain surgeons, I dreamed of them all.

Prompt #20 Free Write When I look at my desk I see, A pile of homework waiting for me. A huge mound of papers, An even bigger mound of worksheets. All the homework waiting just for me, To be done and handed in. I don't like homework, And why should I? Teacher giving seven essays, All due after the holidays. All of my homework, Just takes too long to do. I'd rather play a game, Or do a funny dance. I would give anything, To not have any homework.

Prompt -21 Blurp! Slosh Snort! Write a paragraph incorporating at least ten onomatopoetic words. Onomatopoetic words are words that sound like what they mean. Examples: boing hiccup beep plop swoosh ﬁzz.

"Ahchoo!" sneezed my friend. "Ah. I hate being sick. Its so boring." "Yeah" I replied"I suppose." "Ring Ring" went my cellphone. I answer it. It's my mom telling me to come home. "Sorry. I got to go" I say as a run. My flipflops make a "Flop, Flop" sound as I run around the corner to get home.

I walk through the door and then, It attacks. The creature from the black lagoon. Though small, it is deadly. "Boing, boing. I'm a bunny rabbit." says my little sister. "Mmmph. Get off." I say" Unless you want to not have lunch." "No way!" shouts my sister. "I want food!" I manage to get out underneath my sister and make my way to the kitchen. I open the fridge door and grab a can of Coke. As I open it, it makes a fizzing noise and the Coke bubbles. I get out a pot and turn on the gas. The flame flickers and goes out with a popping noise. Then the lights go out with a "Nynnnggg" sound. I knock over the pot and it hits the floor with a "Clang." Then its just me and my sister, all alone in the dark.

Prompt #22 Free Write.

I have a sister, an awesome sister. She's understanding and nice and really fun. We are six years apart. A lot of people say we look a lot similar, but in my point of view, we look completely different. She has curly hair and I don't. She wears glasses almost everyday. She has more freckles than me. She is taller than me(but that will change soon). Her hair is darker and doesn't have as many streaks as mine. But she's an awesome sister and that's all. We have never hit or punched each other.

Prompt #23 They say opposites attract. Use at least 5 pairs of opposites in a paragraph about some kind of transportation. Examples:example:weak/strong, loud/quiet, high/low. Running, hooves making loud pounding noises on the gravel as they run, but quiet on soft earth, horses have been moving us from place to place for hundreds of years. These creatures are gentle and quiet when it comes to standing still, but strong, free, majestic and loud when they run. Horses can run fast or slow if they have enough energy. Horses are good companions and friends. They are more fun than cars, which are noisy, pollute the earth and aren't nearly as much fun as horses. Cars need to be driven on hardly packed roads. They use a lot of gasoline.

Prompt #25

Write a paragraph beginning with this sentence: The grass smells red.

The grass smells red. "Red" doesn't have one particular smell, it just smells. Different smells like the smell of a campfire, of chili peppers, of cinnamon candies, of blood, of clay. Not an adjective we use a lot, but oh well.

It is really hot today. 35˚ Celsius kind of hot.

Prompt #26

Chris walks into a room. By describing only the reactions of the other people in the room, let us know something about him.

The doorknob turns, the door swings open. People turn to see who it is. "Must have been the wind..." says Person number 8472947 and three quarters. "Person number 241537357, where's the mouse's cage? You told me you put it over here somewhere." Person number 9012837274913826371832761731873646115487482878742737891796439274987 and one tenth exclaims. “I did!" replies 241537357 angrily. "I found it! Its over here." say Person number too-long-to-say, "What? The door is open! Our part human part mouse experiment is gone!"

Prompt #29

Some say you can tell a lot about a person by the vehicle he or she drives. Picture a car. (Or is it a truck? Or an SUV?)

In your mind, rummage through this car. Check it out from every angle.

Describe the car and the man or woman who goes with it.

Clean car, neat car, that's the car he has. Litter is scarce. White gloves in the glove compartment, black jacket hung from a hanger in the very back. A comb, a brush, a bow tie, all residents of this car. A car shiny and black, not a speck of dirt. Seems like this car was bought only yesterday. Some flowers in clear crystal water being kept fresh for the special occasion. No crumbs on the seats, not hair on the floor. Not a puddle of water from the rain. Everything is clean and neat. The only items in this car are fancy and perfect.

The man who drives is very fancy, just like his car. He wears black pants and a white shirt, leaving the dark coat in the back. His hair is neat and clean. He doesn't drive his car to go to the supermarket at all. The man only uses his very nice car for another man or woman equally fancy.

Prompt #38

Free Write

Prompt # 39 What would you do with three wishes?

I would wish immortality because then I would live forever. I would also wish for no pollution in the world.

Prompt #40

What is your idea of the perfect vacation?

Prompt #42 As this is being written, a show called "What Not to Wear" is a popular on the cable channel TLC. Imagine more possible shows on a "what not to do" theme. Describe at least one idea (Don't forget to give the show a name.)

"What Not to Say" is a TV show about people

Prompt #43 For the last two days you were not in school because of the weather - "snow days." As advanced we have become in the 21st century, we still can not control the weather. Do you think this is an advantage or disadvantage?

I think that not controlling the weather is good because some people might misuse that opportunity and children might make it snow all year so there would be snow days and you would not be able to go to school. To have whatever you want makes you spoiled. You become soft and unable to cope with stress when you don't have it. Imagine if you were a farmer and able to make it rain or sunny so your crops were always in perfect condition. Maybe that would be bad because if you couldn't change the weather like before you would find it extremely hard to cope.

I also think it is a bad idea to control the weather because where's the fun in knowing what the weather will be like? It would be like knowing what all your birthday presents were. When you open them, you would expect it and not be excited and happy as much. You would predict what would happen. It's like when you cheat in a game like a computer game. Imagine you have a program that has all sorts of cheats. Max health, levels and lives, it would be so boring. If the game was in stages you would be bored in 5 minutes. Don't cheat. Just have fun and be fair. It's not worth it. The weather is just another stage in the game of life. You don't know what to expect. And why would you want to?

Prompt #44 Write a letter to yourself as a ten-year old child.

TEDA International School TEDA, Tianjin, China Dear Emma, I know how you feel. Really I do. Just don't give up. Treasure your friends. They are one of the few only things you have. I understand that the end of fifth and the beginning of sixth grade is hard but how hard can it really be? Sixth grade will be just like any other. Just learning new things with different people. You have to learn to get over yourself and not dwell on things from the past.

I know Natalie isn't the best older sister but you're not the best younger sister. Treasure your sister. She's your family. What will you do when she is gone to university or some other place? Natalie can't always be around to tell you the answers.

Keep the things you do. Do what you love. And never, ever loose hope. There is always hope. Even in the darkest cave, there is light. There is always an end to a tunnel no matter how long it is. Although the parting hurts, you have to let go. Let go of your emotions once in a while.

Yours truly, Emma

Prompt #46

Write about a memory related to a holiday.

One memory I have that is especially vivid and I can remember very well was when I was in Thailand when I was 6 or 7. My sister, mom and I were there. We were having lunch at a restaurant. The walls around us were only several centimeters tall. There was a roof over us to protect us from the sun. The restaurant was on the beach so when we were done eating, I could go and play on the beach. I don't remember what I ate or anything except playing on the beach. My favorite thing to do was to look for shells in the sand. I was wading with the water halfway up my calves when I saw something that caught my eye. A clam shell covered with patterns and barnacles was buried in the sand. It seemed to be intact and not broken so I reached into the water and tried to pull it out. It was stuck firmly. With one last final tug, I yanked it out and gasped.

There in my hand, was a conch shell, perfect and beautiful with no pieces missing.

Journal #47

Madison is so happy, in one paragraph, show that she is happy, but don't use the word happy.

Argh! It's getting on my nerves! Madison is so annoying! Just because she got an A+ on her test doesn't mean she has to hop around the room and scream "Yippee" and "Hurray" and rub it in our faces. A B- isn't so bad is it? Argh... Now she's bragging and stuff... I bet she's delighted to see us with our F's and D's and her perfect 100. She never is this enthralled about something. She's way too joyful at the moment in my opinion. Why does she have to be this way? Can't she just take a chill pill and relax? She's normally a little sober... Why can't she be like that now?

Prompt # 48

In one sentence describe, something (not someone) that is very ugly. Create a vividly ugly image with words.

A very hairy, oozing green goo, putrid, stinky, smelly, wriggling worm lies on the sidewalk looking as ugly, grumpy and annoyed as my sister when she's just woken up.

Prompt #49

Well, there's not much to say about my job. Any remote control knows that they don't have control over what they become. I certainly didn't. It's not a very eventful job, you know. At a certain time the huge creatures leave the house and I am free to do what I want. But then at three o'clock I must scurry back to exactly the same place that the creatures left me and do my job. For one or two hours the huge, tall creatures sit on Bob, who is, what they call, a couch. They use me to turn on the TV named George and use my to change his surface. It's an interesting concept. The smallest of the alien-like creatures always watches something that has something to do with some one chasing another and eventually getting hurt. The person with long, flowing hair watches other people like her sitting down and talking or other odd shows. The biggest, tallest one watches creatures kicking or hitting a ball and running around. Personally I like my job. I may not have any days-off but the work is simple and I get plenty of rest during the weekdays. Besides, I get to watch a variety of things.

Prompt #50

Erica Jong said, "If you don't risk anything, you risk more." Write what this means to you.

To me, the phrase means you will never achieve anything unless you take a chance. We, humans, would live inside our own little bubble if we didn't take a chance. Humans took a chance when they walked on the moon. Humans took a chance when they studied the depths of the ocean. Never be afraid to take risks and believe in yourself.