10th Grade

Aftermath

By: Jessica Blazer

The evening sky was mixed with orange and pink as the warm sun began to set behind the charred and empty trees that once held life. Glistening green leaves were now all that remained of the bittersweet memories that were once a reality, but now are nothing but a faint memory in the back of the minds of the many people who once crowded the bustling streets, filled with buzzing of talking and laughing voices, filled with life and excitement. Now, only the gloomy, howling of the wind filled the streets. The quaint little shops that were full of knick knacks and a warm, homey feel, that always felt so surreal, now felt so cold and lonely. Soon, the inky black sky was filled with shimmering stars that illuminated off the shallow pond that sat in the center of town. It was once full of glistening blue water but was now filled with debris and dirt but still managed to reflect the beauty of the sky. Soon, the rumbling sounds of another building giving up could be heard as it came tumbling down. It echoed throughout the village but not a single soul was there to give a helping hand.

To My Best Friend

By: McKenzie Jones

You’re always there for me

Anytime I call

You pick up

Laughing at things that are so irrelevant

Ranting on and on about things we are so passionate about and relate to

I love you so much

The way you carry yourself is so admirable

The way you don’t care what other people think about you is

Something that is so unreal and more people needs to see

I’m so incredibly proud of you and everything you are going to accomplish

You make me a better person every. Single. day.

Your strength and determination is something that I will envy forever

2 am, 12 am, 8 am

Belle, Cheese Fries, Fairy Lights

I will forever cherish our facetime calls

Laughing till I pee my pants

I will forever be there for you

Doesn’t matter where you end up

Across the country or across the world

I’m always here, one call or text away.

Letter to my Nephew

By: Kenna Knopsnider

My Nephew Jackson,

From since the first moments I laid my hazel eyes on your brown eyes, I knew that I would want to protect you with my livelihood. Every tear I shed out of frustration for you was worth it and it will always be. My last free summer, the last summer I had before you were born, was summer of 2016. I’m seventeen now, and I don’t care about not being able to do what I want during the summer. There have been so many things I wanted to do. Adventures I wanted to go on, but I will always throw those things away because the best adventure I could ever have was with my best friend, which is you.

I will always put your happiness before mine because you’re so important to me. I always risk myself getting sick to take care of you while you’re sick. I will always teach you right from wrong and you’ll grow into the gentleman I know you’ll be. No matter how low I feel, as long as you can be happy, I’m okay. You’re so young now, You wouldn’t be able to understand these words yet, but You can understand the most important, three worded sentence; “I love You.”

Letter to my Pap

By: Kenna Knopsnider

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, six years. There are still nights when I cry for you to come back. I was too young to fully comprehend death when you were sick, but over the years I figured out you weren’t coming back. It’s been getting harder for me to tell myself that you’re just at the casino, having fun. I have never visited your grave and I’m mad at myself for it, the last time I was there was the day you were buried.

There are days where I just wanna give everything up and just quit, but I have you counting on me to hold out the promise I made you about finishing school and making something of myself. I promised to make you proud. I can’t wait for the day when I have the diploma in my hands, when I open the doors to my corporation, when I publish my first article, when I unlock my home for the first time; I’m going to look up to the say and tell you one thing. “I did it.”