Sam

4/29/10

English

Dear Reader,

You are about to read another freestyle essay about friendship. In this essay you will read an expository paragraph, a post card, a haiku, and a journal entry. I hope you enjoy my essay about friendship.

-Sam

TS- The most important thing in the world, above everything else, is friendship. SD- To have a real tight bond between friends is extremely important to live a healthy fulfilling life. CM- When you have a friend that you can trust, you can tell them anything that may be bothering you. CM- When I need to talk to someone about personal issues I can always turn to my friends to ask for aid or advice. I have found this friend support line extremely useful during tough times. SD- My friends and I are always looking for a good time. CM- Sometimes we look for fun in the wrong places, but end up getting through it together. CM- I can remember one time my friends Connor, Joey and I, were throwing snowballs at cars; we ended up hitting the wrong car. This resulted in the fastest 200 yard sprint of our lives. All of the experiences and stories we share may seem crazy and stupid, but they are priceless to us. CM- In the book Romeo and Juliet, I feel bad for Romeo because he is missing out on times like these. Instead of being out playing with kids his age, he is cooped up in his room crying. CS- I can’t envision life without laughing, playing, and joking around with my best friends.

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Post Card-

Hey Connor,

How ya doing? I am having a great time on my around the world trip! I am currently in Sydney Australia and saw some kids wake boarding on the bay. This picture reminded me of how we spend our dog days wake boarding in the summer. I realized how much fun we have hanging out. I am so glad to be your friend and can’t wait to go wake boarding this summer.

Sincerely,

Sam

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Haiku

You are my best friend

You are always there for me

I’ll be there for you

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May 16, 2009

Dear Journal,

Today was our class trip to Six Flags New England. For the whole year we have been frothing at the bits to go. Finally that day has come and gone, I had a blast. Today my friends and I all sat in the theatre watching different grades perform music pieces. The whole time we fooled around with each other, while waiting anxiously to board the bus to Six Flags. I must say, the three hours that we spent in the theatre listening to classmates perform, flew by in what seemed like minutes. Just spending time cooped up in this theater for three hours was almost as fun as the roller coasters. I feel lucky to have friends that I can have fun with 24/7, even during the most boring of times.

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Self Assesment-

I think I did well on this multi-genre essay. I particularly like my haiku. I like my haiku because it gets to the point in a matter of a few words. It really gets to the bone of what true friendship is. I do think that I could have written a little more about Romeo and Juliet though. I don’t think I related friendship enough to the required 80 words. Overall I think my writing was very neat, there were no grammatical errors, and it formed a nice umbrella. I think I deserve at B-.

Sam

4/20/10

English

Mr. Salsich

Family is Key:

My Family

In my life, family is a strong foundation. My family knows everything about me, what I like, what I want, what mood I am in. They are my comfort zone that I can always retreat to.

TS- When I think about my family, I feel a great deal of security. SD- I feel exceedingly(thesaurus word) blessed to have a whole family consisting of my mom, dad, and sister. CM-To know that my family cares about me, keeps me assured that I will have a listening ear when I need one. CM- My family is also a great support system when I hit a rough patch in life with school, sports, and friends.(parallelism) SD- Knowing I can be completely honest with family is a confidents builder. CM- In the beginning of my first year at Pine Point School, I was nervous about everything in general.CM- Knowing I could return to my refuge at the end of the day, helped me through this transition.SD-Just being in my sanctuary, surrounded by my family, I feel at ease and can surely sleep soundly.(alliteration) CM- It’s nice to have a place to relax and unwind.CM-Being at home with my family is where I am most content. CS- To have a home and a family that loves you, is priceless.

TS- The character, Atticus Finch, in the book To Kill a Mocking Bird, has strong correlations to my father. SD- Atticus and my dad are similar to one another because they are both fathers who set boundaries and enforce them. CM- My dad’s major limitation is no television or video games Sunday to Thursday. He is very strict on enforcing these rules just how Atticus is very strict about Scout not getting into fist fights. SD-Another analogous(thesaurus word) trait between Atticus and my dad is that both expose their kids to the world without sugarcoating the truth. CM- When Calpurnia told Scout and Jem not to go to Tom Robinson’s trial and they did, Atticus was not upset. He wanted his kids to know the truth about the real world and how cruel it can be. CM- Just like Atticus, my dad never hides the truth; he tells it how it is. CS- My dad and Atticus, are men of strong character, are willing to stand by their principles, and are willing to be honest.(loose sentence)

Let it be my dad, my whole family, or Atticus, family is a key factor in my life. Without a family, life can be very lonely and insecure. I can’t imagine waking up in the morning to an empty house filled with no love. Family is my support system that I can always turn to, it is my safety net.

Self Assessment- I think this is going to be one of my best essays. I have spent a lot of time on it and have checked it over countless times. Furthermore I completed all of the special requirements easily. I also display unity and clarity. My whole essay is under a umbrella that is easy to understand.

It Is Spring

By: Sam Godfrey

It is spring

It’s time to break out the shorts.

All the trees are budding, flowers blooming, and bugs buzzing.

It’s time to be outside soaking up the suns warm rays that we missed.

The spring air, warm and flavorful, overflows into my nose.

The days grow longer and the nights shorter.

Summer is around the corner, but never seems to come quick enough.

Spring is almost a sign of freedom from school.

All the kids grow more excited with spring fever as the summer comes closer.

Welcome to spring, a truly a beautiful thing.

It is spring

Sam

4/8/10

English

Mr.Salsich

You Cant Hurry Love:

You Will Just Have To Wait

The song, “You can’t hurry love” by Phil Collins definitely has a good meaning that people should hear. The person who needs to hear this the most is Paris. Paris, a character in Romeo and Juliet, desperately wants to get married to a 14 year old, but must wait.

TS-After scrolling through my ipod I found the perfect song for Act 1, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet.SD In this scene Paris wants to marry Juliet, but Capulet thinks differently.CM- Juliet’s father, Capulet, tells Paris, “Let two more summers wither ” before you marry. CM- Capulet is telling Paris his daughter is only 14; don’t rush love. Wait two more summers until she is ready.SD- This scene reminds me an of a song by Phil Collins called, You Can’t Hurry Love. CM The part of the song that relate to this scene says, “My mamma said, you can’t hurry love, no you’ll just have to wait.” CM- These lyrics relate to the scene because both Paris and Phil want to rush into love; but their parents tell them they must wait. CS-Paris, a wealthy, handsome man, is trying to hurry love, but he will just have to wait. (Appositive)

TS- You Can’t Hurry Love is not my favorite song, but it has a nice meaning and fits great with Romeo and Juliet. SD- When Phil Colins says, “you can’t hurry love”, I think of the people who hurry love, then soon fall out of love. CM- I find it sad how many people get married to quick then divorce. CM- A great example of people who hurry love are some celebrities. I always see it on magazines, “Divorced After, 3 Months”. CM-This cycle of a quick marriage then divorce occurs quite often. SD-Love is not something that can transpire (Thesaurus Word) overnight, “love don’t come easy”. CM- Love isn’t easy, it takes time, and a lot of patience. (Appositive) CM- In fairytales, couples meet and get married within a week and... “they lived happily ever after”. Thats not realistic at all. CS- I think if Paris and Juliet get married too quick, they would surely fall out of love.

Love and marrage is not a weekend in Vegas. It's a serious commitment that takes time. People who jump the gun may end up very unhappy.

Self Assesment- I am hoping that I explained my essay clearly. It was not easy to talk about this subject since I am only fourteen. I think I did good with my appositives. But I think I could have made my final paragraph longer.