steven’s blog : )

Steven Sierras

English – 7^th Period

March 20, 2009

The Basketball Hero

     It all started thirteen years ago with a boy named Jeffery (Jeff for short) that was born and raised in Northern California. When he was born his parents were already having marital problems because they were both using drugs. When Jeff was only three, his parents got a divorce and child protective services took custody of him. They thought that it was not safe to live with parents that were under the influence. As a result of the divorce, he was always a very quiet kid and never had any friends. Jeff had never been good at sports until some of his foster friends started a basketball game. He found out what his calling was. Basketball was Jeff’s natural skill. Jeff ended up scoring most of his team’s points. At only five years old, Jeff scored twenty five points in one game!

     Jeff kept his basketball skills a secret for most of his life so that he would not get made fun of. Only the kids at the game that Jeff played with at his foster home knew of his skills. When Jeff was in eighth grade, he thought to himself that it was his last year in middle school so he decided that and he might as well make it worthwhile, so he tried out for the basketball team. Jeff had his doubts but he told himself that you can only live life once and you need to live it to its fullest. When Jeff got to the try-outs, he was extremely intimidated by the skill level of some of the other kids. He started to put on his sneakers and the smell of the court made Jeff tingle on the inside. Jeff was watching the other players and started to have second thoughts about trying out. “What if I mess up and make a fool of myself,” Jeff thought to himself. If he were to mess up one time, he would be made fun of for the rest of middle and high school.  Jeff sat on the sidelines thinking of what to do for about five minutes, then he finally decided to take the risk. Jeff was by far one of the best kids that tried out and, of course, made the team. The coach pulled Jeff to the side and looked him strait in the eyes. The coach said “Jeff I don’t know what you have been waiting for because you have a skill like no other. You are the best player I have seen try out in the past twenty years as a coach.”  Jeff was thrilled and he was so shocked he could not say a word.

       Jeff practiced with the team and soon became the best player. It was the night before the first game and understandably, Jeff was extremely stressed out. He knew that the entire school was going to be there and if he wanted to make a good first impression, he would have to have a near perfect game. Jeff stayed up all night trying to forget about his upcoming game but he could not forget the pressure he was under. He went to school the next day and began to worry more and more. Soon it became game time and Jeff told himself he could do it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  He buckled down on the obstacle ahead and did great. The final score was fifty-six to thirty-eight, and Jeff’s team won. Jeff scored a total of twenty points and held the team’s new record for the most points scored in one game. When he was in the locker room everyone on the team just patted Jeff on the back and said “good job”, and went on with what they were doing. Even though it was only a few “good job taps”, it made Jeff feel like he was on cloud nine.

     When Jeff went back to school the next day, there were not as many people that made fun of him. Trying out for the basketball team might have been the best thing he had ever decided to do. When he went to lunch, there were actually people that came and sat next to him and made small talk with him. Jeff was no longer the kid that everyone was making fun of and teasing. There were a few kids that still made jokes about Jeff but for the most part everyone would talk to Jeff and say,” hey nice game last night, I didn’t know you had it in you.” Jeff even had one of the schools hottest girls, Olivia, come up to him, give him a hug, and say “Jeff you are the coolest kid in school.” Jeff was amazed.  After that day, Jeff was a total new man.

     After that first game, expectations were high. This time he wasn’t nearly as worried as the last game. More people showed up and Jeff was really feeling the pressure. The team was beginning warm-ups and Jeff blocked everything out. He made every shot, every lay-up, and set people up perfect to make their shots. Come game time and Jeff was ready to go. They got on the court and were ready to play. The crowd was going crazy. The game was underway!

     About half way through the game, Jeff had already scored seventeen points and it looked like he was going to make a new record once again. The final score was sixty-six to twenty-seven. They dominated. Jeff had scored twenty-three points and once again was the star of the team.

     This went on for about ten games and then it came down to the playoffs. Jeff never thought that they would be able to go that far that season. He was really excited because being that this was his first year playing sports it was an entire new world for him. Their school went far without losing one game the entire season. Jeff was about to see what the real competition looked like. In first game, they were playing a team that they had beaten already and the entire team knew what had to be done to win again. Jeff was doing great, he was in his element doing the thing he loves to do. He was pumped up, but when the team let their guard down, the opposing team caught up, and were now only down by two. The score was twenty-five to twenty-seven. The team got back into the game and ended up winning, thirty to twenty five. This was the closest game that the team had encountered and to Jeff it was a big wake up call. The team decided to have an extra practice to make sure they were ready to beat any team that came their way.  

     The team was much more prepared for the next game because they heard that the team that they were playing next was hard and they would have to bring there “A”-game to win. To Jeff this was no longer a year to have fun playing basketball to see if he liked it, it was a year to become one of the coolest kids in school by winning the championship. Jeff got in the zone and for the first time in the entire season, they held the opposing team to only six points. The other team was tired and because Jeff’s team was having an extra practice, they were in top condition and were ready to go at all times. The game turned into a beat down. The final score was sixty-six to six. Jeff knew if the team played like that all that time, that they would have a chance on winning the championship game. The team kept having the extra practices and it seemed like the team was getting better and better.

      Soon, it was time for their last game, and if they won, then they would play in the championship game. To Jeff it was just another game where they would have to win in order to make it to the championship, but it was much more than that. This game was going to be like war because both teams wanted to go on to the next game therefore making each team try their hardest. Jeff didn’t think of this game to be like war, it was just another game where his team would just effortlessly win the game. Doing warm-ups Jeff quickly realized that this game was going to be much harder than he thought.  Their team was making every shot that they threw up and were making every lay-up look effortless. From being extremely calm, to now worried that they might not win. Jeff told some of the guys on his team to watch them warm up so they would know what they looked like when they went on the court. The entire team was now watching them warm up in shock on how good the other team was. Some of the players even said that they looked like they were raised just to make it to the NBA (National Basketball League). While some of the players were worried about how this game would end up, some of the other kids had confidence on winning and had no doubt in their mind that the team would lose this game.

     When Jeff’s team was in their huddle, coach gave them a big lecture on how they would need a lot of good fast breaks and great shots to win this game. Once the team was done with their little chat, they did their huddle routine and headed out on the court. The opposing team looked even bigger when they were standing on the court with them. Jeff was a little nervous, but he was not letting the big players and their skill level get in his way of winning the game.

     The game was under way and instantly Jeff found out that their entire team was depending on this one huge kid to make all of their points for them. After five minutes, Jeff’s team was down twelve to six and they were not excited about the beginning of the game. The game went on and the big kid was still dominating the entire game until, he fell on a fast break, spraining his ankle. Now was there time to come back? The score was twenty to twelve and all of Jeff’s team’s best players were in the game. Now that the big kid was out, Jeff’s team had a chance of winning. Jeff was doing great, and now the score was twenty-five to twenty and Jeff’s team was in the lead! Jeff’s team was ecstatic. They now knew that the game was over. They had about five minutes left in the game, the big guy was out, and now they had a twenty point lead.

     The final score was forty-five to twenty and Jeff’s team was going to the championship. Once the team got done shaking hands with the other team, they went outside and had a huge team huddle. Even a few of the other players took the water container and dumped it on the coach like it was the Super Bowl in football. Some of the parents got together and planned a pizza party at the local pizza parlor for the team. The team was totally pumped up for the rest of the night.

     The championship game was coming up and the team was having practice every day after school. The game was now one day away, and the team couldn’t be more ready, but they knew that the team that they were playing was good and they all knew that the game was going to be close. Jeff knew what had to be done to win this game, but he wasn’t sure if the rest of the team did. Jeff was excited. This was the first thing in his life that he was so pumped up about that he could hardly wait.

     Game day and Jeff was hardly able to focus in school because he was so excited. The game was after school let out, and it was seventh period and Jeff was going crazy. He could just picture the shimmer of the freshly moped floor and the warmth of the gym. Jeff was ready to go. He was the first one to the locker room because he wasted no time to talk to people after school. He headed straight to the gym and Jeff was in the zone. Once he got to the locker room, Jeff was in what seemed like auto drive. It seemed like he didn’t even look at his lock when he did the combination. He quickly got dressed and ran out to the court before anyone else on the team was out there. He grabbed a ball and did what he has been waiting to do all day, just shoot a few free throws before the team got out. When the team got out their, the team did their normal routine and got ready for the game.

     Jeff knew that the team that they were playing had a terrific offense and a horrible defense so Jeff knew that it would be a high scoring game. Soon, the game was about to start and once again the team did their huddle. The game was about to begin and Jeff took a moment to take in the surroundings. Jeff was doing the jump ball this time. He was never quite a high jumper, but he knew he could do it. The ball was thrown up, and Jeff never jumped higher in his life. He seemed to be soaring in the air as he swatted the ball back to his teammates. Jeff was pumped up, he had done the best jump ball he had ever done and this was just the beginning of the game. The game was intense. Jeff’s team brought the ball down the court and scored, and this was just the beginning of the game and Jeff had a good feeling about it.

     By the second half, the game was fifty-five to fifty-three. Jeff’s team was ahead. The game was super close and it seemed that both teams were tired out. Jeff’s team rested up for the half time break and went back out for the rest of the game. There was five minutes in the game and the score was seventy-nine to seventy-nine. Right when Jeff’s team wasn’t expecting it, the other team went down the court making a three pointer. Jeff’s team thought that the game was over. The other team tightened up on defense and Jeff thought it was over.

     Jeff’s team was preparing themselves for the loss. They had thirty seconds left in the game and it looked like they were going to lose the championship game. Suddenly, Jeff was on a fast break down the court and made the perfect lay-up. The score was still only eighty to eighty-one. The other team got the ball and was going down court when Jeff suddenly stole the ball and was racing down the court to the basket. Jeff was on the break away when out of nowhere one of the other team’s players threw Jeff to the ground. The referee blew the whistle and gave Jeff the foul. Since there was only ten seconds left in the game, the rest of the players went back to their benches while Jeff took the shots.

     Jeff called time out and went and talked to his couch. “Maybe we should put in someone else for the two shots,” said Jeff. “No way, you have worked way too hard for someone else to take the shots for you. Believe in yourself, and you can win the game.” Said coach. Jeff couldn’t argue with that. Jeff walked out on the court, his legs shaking and knowing that his entire team was watching. Jeff walked out to the free throw line and got ready to take the shots.  The score was eighty to eight-one. The referee tossed Jeff the ball and Jeff was in the zone. He took the shot and… it went in! Jeff’s team was going crazy. The score was now eighty-one to eighty-one. Even if Jeff missed the next shot, they were going into overtime and they still had a chance, but Jeff and his entire team were worn out. Jeff got the ball again and he had one more shot left. Jeff was now really feeling the pressure. He got the ball and took the shot. The ball seemed to be moving in slow motion as it was going up. The entire team was focused on the shot. The ball seemed just to float in the hoop. The team went nuts. Jeff had won the championship game and the entire team carried him off the court. It was truly amazing.

     Jeff was by far the happiest kid walking the face of the Earth. To him it felt as if he were walking on water. He had gone from one of the most un-popular kids in school to the most popular. Everyone loved to talk to him now and to top it all off, Jeff and Olivia ended up dating. Jeff was the new superstar at his school and he deserved to be.

Steven Sierras

English per 7

Book Review

TITLE: Seekers   AUTHOR: Erin Hunter   PAGES: 300

       “A long, long time ago, long before bears walked the earth, a frozen sea shattered into peaces, scattering tiny bits of ice across the sky. Each one of those pieces of ice contains the spirit of a bear, and if you are good, and brave, and strong, one day your spirit will join them.” I think this is the key quote of the story because before you even start reading the story you can tell that this story will be about how bears will some day make it to the spirits that they believe in and the journey they take before they get there.  

       The main characters of Seekers are Lusa, Kallik, and Tokolo. Tokolo is a grizzly bear that is on a journey by himself to find the bear spirits. His brother died when Tokolo was young and his mother was so upset with the loss that she left Tokolo to fend for himself in the wild when he was only a young cub. Lusa is a black bear that lived in a zoo until one day Tokolo’s mother came in to the zoo. Tokolo’s mother told Lusa the entire story of how she had left Tokolo in the wild to fend for himself and how terribly sorry she was for leaving. Lusa promised that she would escape from the zoo and let Tokolo know how sorry she was. The next day Tokolo’s mother attacked a keeper and she was killed. Lusa wanted to keep her promise so she escaped and met up with Tokolo. Kallik is a polar bear that was left to behind fend for herself, when her mother was eaten by orcas’ and her brother floated out to sea on a piece of ice. She traveled a long way searching for her brother. One day while traveling through a small town, she was captured and taken to a keeping place where they waited to return the bears to there natural habitat. There she met a friend named Nanuk. When they were on they were being returned to there natural habitat, the plane that was dropping them off crashed killing Nanuk. This once again left Kallik to fend for herself.

       The plot of this story is about three bears that are left on their own on a long journey. It tells about each bear and the struggle that they have to go through in order to live on their own such as going through other bears territory, and learning how to catch their own prey so they would not starve.

       The theme of this story is that if you do not have your parents or even somebody to help you along, life can be quite challenging. It also shows, how if you do not learn from your parents, then you have to teach yourself making it twice as hard to learn.

       All in all, I think Erin Hunter did a terrific job writing this book. It shows how growing up on your own would be no walk in the park, and if you had to learn everything on your own, life would be very difficult to live. It also shows how losing someone close to you can make you very sad and just want to leave every thing you have and be on your own. I would give this story a five star rating. It was one of those stories that once you started reading you couldn’t put it down.

*****

A Revolution

     In history there has always been one group of people who are singled out. They are singled out because of what, and who they are, and they act how they look, and sometimes even what religion they are. A few examples are the Jews in the Holocaust, the Japanese in World War II, and the African Americans in the mid 1900’s. Each group has had to deal with discrimination, hatred, and terror. Their suffering fought for change and acceptance. Because of their fight for change, now most groups are accepted.

     One group that suffered a lot, are the African Americans. In the early to mid 1900’s they suffered from some of the most discrimination imaginable. Some of the discrimination they had to go through was seperate drinking fountains for black and white people. Black people had to give up their seat on the buss, black and white kids could not go to school together, and the list goes on and on. If they didn’t do the above then they would get in trouble or even get arrested. One of the biggest leaders to stop discrimination would be Rosa Parks. After a long day of work, Parks was sitting in the front of the buss and was asked to move to the back so a white man could sit down. Parks refused to move and ended up being arrested because someone wanted to sit where she was. This was the beginning of the civil rights movement.

     Martin Luther King Jr. was also a major leader of the civil rights movement. He was one of the first to really try to stop discrimination. Some of the discrimination that King had to go through was terrible. He had bricks thrown at his house, and even a cross set to flames in his front yard. King wanted things to change. King was one of the biggest leaders in the civil rights movement. If he had not tried to change things back then now things would be much more different now.

     Because of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, things are much different for us now. Now, everyone is treated as an equal. There are no more separate fountains, schools or restaurants. Everyone, no matter black, or white are friends and all are treated equally.

A Revolution

     In history there has always been one group of people who are singled out. They are singled out because of what, and who they are, and they act how they look, and sometimes even what religion they are. A few examples are the Jews in the Holocaust, the Japanese in World War II, and the African Americans in the mid 1900’s. Each group has had to deal with discrimination, hatred, and terror. Their suffering fought for change and acceptance. Because of their fight for change, now most groups are accepted.

     One group that suffered a lot, are the African Americans. In the early to mid 1900’s they suffered from some of the most discrimination imaginable. Some of the discrimination they had to go through was seperate drinking fountains for black and white people. Black people had to give up their seat on the buss, black and white kids could not go to school together, and the list goes on and on. If they didn’t do the above then they would get in trouble or even get arrested. One of the biggest leaders to stop discrimination would be Rosa Parks. After a long day of work, Parks was sitting in the front of the buss and was asked to move to the back so a white man could sit down. Parks refused to move and ended up being arrested because someone wanted to sit where she was. This was the beginning of the civil rights movement.

     Martin Luther King Jr. was also a major leader of the civil rights movement. He was one of the first to really try to stop discrimination. Some of the discrimination that King had to go through was terrible. He had bricks thrown at his house, and even a cross set to flames in his front yard. King wanted things to change. King was one of the biggest leaders in the civil rights movement. If he had not tried to change things back then now things would be much more different now.

     Because of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, things are much different for us now. Now, everyone is treated as an equal. There are no more separate fountains, schools or restaurants. Everyone, no matter black, or white are friends and all are treated equally.

The Fly

     Once upon a time there was a little fly named Todd. He was born in the backyard of a typical American family. There was one thing that was not normal about Todd… he is very adventurous, unlike all other flies. Sadly Todd did not have long to live.

     December 25, 6:28 AM, 2007. Todd McFly was born on a cold, chilly, Christmas morning in the backyard of the Addams family. It was a normal birth, just like any other. Todd was raised by his parents until his parents 24 hours were up and they passed away. Todd did not take the death very well and therefore he became much more adventurous.

     Once Todd got the nerve to even go near the Addams’s house, he decided to go right in. When Todd got inside, he was in pure shock of the sights and smells of a house on Christmas day. When he was flying around the house, he saw something like no other: A PERSON…lots of people. He noticed that the room they were in was filled with food! It was twelve o’clock when everyone gathered around the table to eat lunch. That’s when he first laid eyes on Sierra, the most beautiful fly he had ever seen. (The only fly he had seen besides his parents.) They met and decided to join in on lunch with the Addams’s family. They were the most annoying flies you can imagine.

     By the time they were finished with lunch, they had gone from plate to plate from everyone in the family. Everyone, except, the big fat, Uncle Bobby. Uncle Bobby was very fast and did not let anyone even come close to his plate. They decided to digest their food on the couch and plot out how to get some food from Uncle Bobby for dinner.

     Once they were ready to fly again, Todd and Sierra decided to go and explore the rest of the house. To them the house was huge! They had discovered everything you could imagine, and then they finally found the stairs. Even though they were exhausted from flying everywhere, they decided to go upstairs. Once they were up the stairs, they found a couch to relax on for a little while. Once they were ready to go again, they went and explored the rest of the upstairs. They were almost done with the upstairs when they found an opened can of soda. It was the most amazing thing they had ever tried. They flew all around the family for over an hour, driving them all crazy.

     Seven o’clock came around and everyone gathered for dinner and the flies knew that they had to attack Uncle Bobby. So they decided it was time to go in for the tag team attack. Todd distracted Uncle Bobby while Sierra could go in and get some food. Then Sierra would do the same for Todd. Now that both flies had gotten some of Uncle Bobby’s food he was infuriated. He screamed at the top of his lungs,” I am going to kill those flies if it is the last thing I do.’’ By the time dinner had ended, it was about nine o’clock and both flies were stuffed.

     They decided to take another quick fly around the house while the dishes were being washed. Until they could go back for leftovers. While they were waiting, they watched fat Uncle Bobby practically fall on to the couch and start to watch TV. After everyone had started to open presents, the two of them went back over for some delicious leftovers. They ate so much that they could have just fallen over and just passed out.

     They went overt to the couch to watch some TV while everyone was opening presents. It was about eleven o’clock, when the two of them fell asleep after a long day of flying and eating. Soon, when nobody was watching, Uncle Bobby took a newspaper, rolled it up, and…SPLAT! He smashed both flies. He had a smile from ear to ear when it happened, and that was the end of Todd and Sierra.

     Life and death is a major reality. Everyone is born and everyone is going to die some day whether it be soon or in seventy years. It is what you so with your life is what matters. You can be just a normal person and do the everyday work that is required or you can be the opposite and live every day of your life to the fullest and have fun. So while you can you should make the most of your life.

Cheating

     If you were to say that you have never cheated in your entire life, you would probably be lying. I have noticed that in Benicia Middle School a lot of kids cheat. It’s not just on tests, it’s on everything from homework, and worksheets, to even notes.

     Students cheat because they need a good grade. In most families in America, if you get a bad grade then you are going to be in trouble when your parents find out. Also, kids cheat to make themselves look smarter than they really are. If you fail a test and some people find out, then you might get made fun of just because you got a bad grade. Even though cheating is an easy way to get a good grade, it is still very wrong.

     If you do cheat, then you are not helping yourself at all. If you don’t know the information now, and you cheat to get it right, then when the test comes you really are not going to know the information. Cheating is like a downward spiral that never ends until you stop cheating and learn how to do the work for yourself. Cheating is also bad because it is like using your friends as a crutch just to get you through school. If you don’t know how to do something, like math, then you should just ask your teacher for help. If you keep cheating then you will fall farther and farther behind.

     If you do not cheat and get the grade you deserve, then you can say that you have that freedom; to not worry about what others think, and to learn the information for yourself. If you do cheat, then you are stealing the other person’s freedom to get the grade that they deserve. You would also lose freedom, because it is taking away your freedom to learn the information on your own.

     In most schools in America, students cheat all the time. In time, all that cheating will come back and get them because they didn’t learn the information on their own. It is understandable if they want to look smart or not get in trouble, but it will take even longer to learn the information down the road when everyone is ahead of you. Therefore if you do cheat, it is a major loss of freedom for you and the person you cheat off of

Peer Pressure

     One day Jonny walked into class with his favorite blue jeans on. They went up to his ribs and cut off at his ankles. He also had his crazy plaid shirt on, tucked into his pants. When Nick walked into the class and saw Jonny, he yelled to him,” hey Jonny you have a pretty crazy style!” Then Nick turned off to the side and laughed with some of his friends. Jonny went home that day and threw his pants in the trash, even though they were his favorite pair. From that day on, he vowed to himself to never wear the pants ever again and to never wear pants above his waist. Even though those were Jonny’s favorite pants, and he has the right to wear them, he never will because of the peer pressure at school to look like something he is not.

     Having your freedom means you can dress how you want, act how you want and talk how you want. However, in this world you are pressured to be something you are not. I think if you want to go to school in your pajamas, then nobody has the right to tell you how to dress and to go home and change your clothes. I also think if you want to hang out with your real friends, then nobody has the right to call you a nerd, weirdo, and names like that. Peer pressure should defiantly be changed.

     To change the peer pressure people give, would take a long time. In order to change it, you would have to convince people that everyone has the right to be whoever they want to be. If peer pressure were to be changed then everyone would be happy because they could be who they want to be. Also, everyone wouldn’t judge people so everyone would be friends.

     In every school in America there is some sort of peer pressure. To give in to the peer pressure, it is not showing who you really are, and if you are not being who you really are then you are not happy and you lose the freedom of who you really are. If peer pressure would just stop then the world would be a much better place.