Dreams

                  I have a recurring dream. I dream this same dream probably twice a year, every year now for a few years. In this dream, I'm in a very tall building, almost at the top. And i can look out of the window and see my family. My mom, dad, and brother all just standing there looking up at me. A look of worry or concern is on their faces. I don't understand why they look so concerned at first, but then I realize the building is about to collapse. The elevators aren't working, and I can't find the stairs. I run about frantically searching for the stairs, but the building is so huge and the hallways turn into a maze. The floor begins crumbling underneath me and I eventually fall with it. This dream never fails to make me nervous. I wonder what it would be interpreted as.

Color

Tea Stained
Beautiful smile
Red lips and tea stained teeth
Bright eyes, little laughs


The Purple Door
                 I limped up the hard concrete steps towards the bright purple front door that I had painted with my best friend James. I fumbled with my keys- even the smallest of reminders makes me freak- they dropped onto the porch. I carefully bent down to grab them while tears welled up in my eyes. I was still in pain, but the physical pain I could bear. It was the rollercaoster of emotion and the constant feeling of my heart and lungs being squeezed, a tightness in my chest that I had been facing non stop for two weeks now that really had me shaken up. I couldnt shake the thought that it was my fault James had died, I was the one driving afterall. And why in the world would I, out of the two of us, be the one to survive. James deserved this way more than I did. He had a family, a small daughter and beautiful wife he needed to be there for. Without him, I have no one. I was clearly the better option. It just sucks.
                 I finally open the door after fiddling with the keys in my shaky hands for a couple of minutes. I headed straight towards the end table where the bottle of pain medication sat. I doubled up on the dosage that was prescribed becuase I was feeling extra crappy today. The only thing keeping me going at this point is the knowledge that James would want me to be there for his family- help them through this-but right know I think I'm in need of my own savior. I let the medication take me and my saddening thoughts into a deep sleep.

Writers as Readers

1. When you read, what do you need to be comfortable?
    If I'm reading a really good book, I don't need much to be comfortable. I'll always find a way to keep reading the book, even in the most inconvenient of places. When I was reading The Hunger Games, I was reading during my biology class and missed a few entire lectures, but i didn't mind having to catch up with the rest of the class later. But, if were talking about ideal conditions for reading, I like to read on my bed with tons of pillows around me.

4. What is one of your favorite memories connected with reading?
     My favorite memory would be of my mom reading the Junie B. Jones books to my brother and me when we were younger. We thought those books were hilarious. She would read them to us every night before bed. We must have read all of those books one hundred times over.

6. Who was your first reading teacher?
     My mom was the first one to try and teach me to read. I was four years old. I was so jealous because my brother was in kindergarten and learning to read, but i still couldn't. So, my mom tried to teach me, but I don't think I learned very much from her.

8. What is your favorite book or series?
     Right now, my favorite book series is The Hunger Games. I didn't want to read them at first, but my friend kept persisting that I must, and I'm so glad she made me. I really enjoyed these books. Even though i read them a couple years ago, I still have yet to find a book that i like better.

12. Do you think that someone reads a lot might become a stronger writer?
      Yes, I do believe that reading a lot can make you become a stronger writer. When you read you pick up new vocabulary. Reading a lot of different books can also influence your writing style and you will learn what style fits you.

Famous Lines from Famous Books

First Line: It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
This line is from the novel 1984, which was published in 1949 by the author George Orwell who lived from 1903 to 1950. This Author is also known for other works including Animal Farm and Burmese Days.
Summary:
1984 is possibly the definitive dystopian novel, set in a world beyond our imagining. A world where totalitarianism really is total, all power split into three roughly equal groups - Eastasia, Eurasia and Oceania. 1984 is set in Oceania, which includes the United Kingdon, where the story is set, known as Airstrip One in 1984.

Last Line: After a while, I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain.
This line is from the novel A Farewell to Arms, which was published in the year 1929 by the author Ernest Hemingway who lived from 1899 to 1961. This author is also known for other works, including The Sun also Rises and The Old Man and the Sea.
Summary:
The novel opens with World War I raging all over Europe. A young American student, offers his services to the Italian army. In Gorizia, he is wounded in the knee and is sent to recuperate in a hospital in Milan. He falls in love with an English nurse, Catherine Barkley, lives with her, and she becomes pregnant. He returns to the front and is caught in the Italian retreat. In order to save his life, he deserts his post and goes away to a hospital in Milan to take Catherine and go some place where they can start life anew. They go to Switzerland but cannot live happily, for a fresh tragedy awaits them. Their eagerly awaited son is stillborn and Catherine who can never have a normal delivery, dies after a Caesarian operation.

Maya Angelou

1. In Maya Angelou's first autobiography she said that the caged bird sings for freedom. He doesn't sing because he's happy or pleased; he yearns to be free. I agree with this, because no one wants to be held back or restricted in any way.

3. Angelou has said that she doesn't like talking about her bad dreams because it "gives them too much power." I think that this statement can be true. When you talk about the negative and are giving it all of your attention, that’s all you begin to think about.

4. Like Angelou, I too believe that dreams "tell the truth" about us. Our dreams are formed using our subconscious thoughts, right? So, it only makes sense that it would represent who we are. It may also show parts of who we are that we didn’t even realize we were. I have had a dram before that took me by surprise, but I came to find out that it was true to me.

5. After going through tragedy as a child, Angelou didn’t talk for almost five years. I couldn’t imagine living like that, although I can understand why she did. It would be very hard to deal with what she went through at such a young age. I would probably cope with it differently though.  I talk a lot around those I’m comfortable with, and I think that if I was a little quieter and paid more attention to those around me, I would learn a lot from other people. I’m sure Maya learned many things during the time of her silence just from listening and observing.

6. I find speaking more than one language very impressive. I wish I had put more time and effort into trying to learn one. I would like to be fluent in Spanish eventually. My mom spent a few years of her life as a child living in Mexico, so she is fluent in Spanish. It’s amazing to see just how often that skill comes in handy.

10. I agree with Angelou when Angelou quote Nathaniel West saying, “Easy reading is damned hard writing” and writing is “just hard work, you know?” For me, writing is very difficult. I struggle with putting my thoughts in writing that others can read and easily understand.

11. I disagree with the statement that “One can’t really learn after one is twenty-five.” Yes, it may be more difficult to retain new information at that age, but it certainly isn’t impossible. I have known many people well beyond the age of twenty-five to pick up new skills and learn new things.

My Grandmother's Ring

It was my 14^th birthday, and I was ecstatic. My grandmother usually gives me a little bit of money for my birthday, so I was surprised to see a small silver gift bag gently placed on the table with a beautiful blue ribbon. I had no idea what it could possibly be. As soon as my mom told me it was time to open presents, I went straight for the dainty little bag, because the curiosity was killing me.

As I carefully untied the perfect bow that had been tied with the shiny royal blue ribbon, my grandmother said, “You don’t have to like this, but I just wanted you to have it.”

Okay, now I couldn’t wait any longer, what could possibly be in this bag? I managed to slip the ribbon off and I peered into the small bag. At the bottom, there was a small ring. It was a beautiful ring made from gold, with a huge amethyst stone in the center. My grandmother told me that this ring had been passed down in her family for over one hundred years. She got it from her mother on her 14^th birthday as well. I looked closely at the ring and noticed that the gold band had thinned from years upon years of wear.  I was honored that she chose to give me this ring. She could have chosen her daughter or another granddaughter, but for some reason that I do not know, she decided to give me this old ring that she holds close to her heart. And, because she loves this ring so much, so do I. I don’t have very many possessions that I have a sentimental attachment to, but this ring I really cherish.

I am..Allison

I am...
A tall girl with dark blonde hair and blue eyes
A complex person
A dreamer,who refuses to take no for an answer
A unique individual, always true to myself
A daughter to parents who are,at times, even more immature than me
A sister to an unpredictable 18 year old boy
Always thinking positively, even when its the most difficult thing to do
Always trying to lighten the mood
Someone who looks for the good in all people
Always there for those that I care for
Someone who loves to try new things
Always up for an adventure
Shy, until I get to know you
Spontaneous, and leading a crazy life that I can't imagine any other way.