My Worst Day

It was probably one of my craziest days, and every thing was going wrong. First, I got into to a fight at school. Then I got kicked out of school. Then on the way home my chain popped and my tire popped, too. So now here is the story of my worst day.
First thing I did was wake up to get ready for school. I went to take a shower, and my brothers and sister used all the hot water. So I had to take a cold shower. The I left for school. I was about two blocks away from school, then I crashed. It was crazy. I flipped over my handle bars. Then my shirt got all dirty. So luckily I had a shirt under my other one. Well, then I got to school. Everybody kept messing with me. Then I got in a fight, and I got kicked out of school.
The on the way home I was riding my bike and then I fell off. My chain and my tire popped right then. That is when I knew this was my worst day ever.

By D. S., a middle school student

How to be Successful

Do you want to be successful in school? In order for that to happen you must work on a plan of success. You must tell yourself what you want out of life. Do you want to be a bum or a successful businessman? You decide whether you want to better yourself and have a family.

First of all to be successful, you must stay out of harm’s way. No drugs or alcohol. If you decide to do it, then you are ruining your life and your plan for success. Secondly, you must stay out of trouble. You should not get into trouble at home or at school if you want your plan of success to work. Thirdly, you should go to school and have a job. You can party and hang out with friends but to a certain point. School comes before anything. People can take everything from you, but they can’t take your education. Lastly, those are a few words I think you should take to heart. I know I didn’t, so I am trying to get kids not to follow my footsteps.

By M.V., a high school student

Decisions Decisions

Life . . . the most fragile thing in the universe. It can end in an instant. It changes every second. You only get one chance with it, and every decision you make effects it in some way. Most of the decisions you make can set your life on a path to happiness or on a path to pain and suffering. We are not even in control of our own lives. Not only do your own decisions affect your life but so does everyone else’s.

Someone makes a decision to drive while intoxicated for example. That same night you decide to take your girlfriend out to dinner. Somehow, the timing is so perfect and that drunk driver pulls out in front of you going 60 mph. This happened to a friend of mine. Luckily, they lived, but this shows how easily your life is affected by others.

The thousands of people in the twin towers made the decision to go to work. Terrorists also made a decision that day causing thousands of deaths. People, who had families, died in an instant because of the decisions of a few people. My uncle worked in the twin towers but decided to call in sick that day. His decision saved his life.

You can’t predict what’s going to happen. Your life can change instantly whether you want it to or not. We are not in control of what happens to us. We are always affected by the decisions of other people.

By S.S., a high school student.

How I Handle Stress

There are people that get stress sometimes. Well, I am that kind of person that gets stressed. I will tell you three things I do when I am stressed. The first is when I am trying to just start saying things to people that talk to me because I am not in the mood to talk to anyone. So if someone bothers me when I am angry, I just say, "Want to fight," or I say a bad thing to them, but if I do that, I get into trouble. This would make me more stressed out. I just don't want anyone to talk to me. It just makes me feel weird. Some people try to make me laugh and some times it works and some times it doesn't. The second thing I do when I am stressed is that I just try to find a quiet place to get relaxed again. It does work for me. I get angry, and I just stay in a quiet place and start thinking. I get relaxed, and I am much better. Sometimes I just ignore people. I say to myself, relax, relax, and don't say anything. Just walk away. Also when I am stressed, I get my boxing gloves and start punching the punching bag just to pretend it is somebody, or I play video games and shoot people just to make me better. The third is sometimes I just sit down and don't talk to anyone. I just sit there with an angry face and just ignore people when they talk to me. Sometimes my girlfriend makes me feel better when she hugs me. She just makes me smile. I just hate it when people come up to me and say what is wrong or why are you mad. It just bothers me. So those are the things I do when I am stressed.
By I. A., a middle school student

How I Handle Stress

What do you do when you have stress? Well, sometimes it can get way out of control. Say you are just minding your own business when someone says something. What would I do? I would walk away because if you strike first, you will be in trouble. Also if he hits you and you do hit him, back off and tell a teacher before it is too late. Last, but not least, a way to take stress is to hit something soft or to talk to somebody. Fighting is not the solution to stress because if you walk away you are the biggest man. Take my advice and use it. In conclusion, don’t fight because it is you who will get in trouble not the person. So think before you act.
By L. M., a middle school student

How I Handle Stress

Everyone becomes stressed and angry some time. Some ways to prevent this is to walk away and forget about it, ignore the person or situation, and when you are angry, punch a pillow or something that won’t hurt you. First, let’s talk about walking away and forgetting about it. When in a problem, walk away. That will stop a fight or a problem. Forgetting about it will also stop you from getting in to trouble. Another way to stop stress is to ignore the person or situation. If you ignore the person, it will also stop anger. Don’t always ignore things because sometimes it is an adult. The last way is when angry punch something that won’t hurt you. If you do that, it will relax your anger, trust me. Don’t try to start a fight because you just might get in more trouble. You might even get arrested. Now you know why and how to handle your anger or stress to keep from getting arrested or getting in deep trouble. It is okay to be stressed out or angry.
By J. C., a middle school student

How I Handle Stress

Every one becomes stressed or angry at sometime. But you do not have to get mad and hit somebody. That would just make problems even worse. Everybody has to learn to ignore when they get stressed or angry. If you can’t ignore someone, all you have to do is walk away. Most of the time it always works. Now different people have different ways of handling stress. The way I do it is I count to ten. If I am still stressed, then I will just walk away. Once and awhile some people get real angry. Then they flip out and hit someone. Now that is how people get hurt. I hate it when people take their stress or anger out on other people. That is why people end up in hospitals with broken bones or fractured bones. All because someone couldn’t handle their anger. That is how teenagers end up in jail or a program. Once in awhile I would get mad or stressed and hit someone. It wasn’t really a good idea. I figured that out after I got angry.
By D. S., a middle school student