How To Tick Off Mr. Williams

In order to tick off Mr. Williams in class, you must first be prepared by not having the work you needed to do for class. After you make an excuse about printers or due dates, make sure to open your laptop and log on to Facebook. Make sure he can not see your screen. Be rowdy and make noise until he tells you to stop, wait a few minutes, then repeat. If he gives you instructions for using your computer in class, make sure that you are clueless and at least two steps behind. Do not write down anything he tells you to, and forget whatever he emphasizes by repetition or by writing on the board. Do this every day, and do not forget to make excuses and forget what he says.

“Sometimes things can go right, only by first going very wrong.” -Edward Tenner

My efforts at volleyball at TCIS started horribly. I had only played for a year beforehand, and I had not been playing for several months. However, I thought that I was ok, as I did well at my old school.

            The first sign of failure showed up on my second day of school. My counselor had asked me if there were any extracurricular activities that I wanted to join. My first and only answer was volleyball. I asked her for the try-out times, and she made a phone call. I waited patiently as she spoke, and made no reactions until she confirmed that the boy’s varsity try-outs were today. I froze when I heard that, since I had no idea that TCIS only had a boy’s varsity volleyball team. However, I decided not to ask her to clarify; I would find out for myself later.

            After school that same day, I made sure to show up at try-outs on time. I did, and another twenty-some students did as well. There were only twelve spots on the team. I, along with another student, were the only freshmen trying out. I had no idea what competition I would be up against.

            I failed miserably. I was the only guy who could not overhand serve, I did not shag my balls until someone told me to, and I was so tired after the first day that I became too sick to come the next.

            However, I did learn that there was a development squad that would be formed, which I am now on. We have won our first game, and our second is right around the corner. My failure ended up getting me where I belonged, on a team where we all tried but failed. Not that that is bad thing.

Story of the Migrant Mother

It was a hot, but not too hot, summer day outside, a perfect day in terms of weather. However, not everything was as perfect as the endless blue sky.
One woman, a mother, had the saddest look on her face. She had traveled all over looking for anything: a job, money, a place to beg, or, if she was lucky, food for the day.
Her children had been fed the day before; she hadn't eaten so much as a handful of food since two nights ago.
She was not so much worried for herself: she needed to find food for her children.
She had come into the Depression as a working mother, not rich, but she provided food on the table. Her husband had left years before that, so she was left to fend for herself and the two boys huddled close to her now.
Ever since the Depression started, she had been desperate, moving from place to place looking for signs of prosperity, but she found no such thing.
She did not know the time or place, and she only knew around how many days this exhausting journey had already taken: about 90 (or three months).
At the moment, she happened to chance upon a great opportunity: a job that would compensate her with some food: enough for a few days.
However, she was late: another desperate family had taken the job, and spared no sympathy for her. Out there, it was every family or person for themself.
Only one thought flashed through her mind: the same thought that had been there ever since they first moved: "How on earth are we going to make it?".
As an afterthought, she added, "If we are not going to make it, then how long do we have left?"
A somber thought, yes, but it was the only way she could think now, as optimism was not going to give her boys food for the day.