Kiah: A Short Story

Then I began to spill out the emotions of never being able to compete in college sports. My competitive nature will always be a part of me, and now I would have to find something to replace my participation in organized sports. As I was writing this, other ideas began to flow. Attending such a close-knit school for four years, the next ideas inevitably began effortlessly pouring out: missing my peers and teachers, being

During this time of grief, Della feels overwhelmed knowing her mom is not the person she used to be and now is like an “ancient little girl”, which causes her to engage in self-destructive behavior (114). She mentions that she was in “two car accidents” and “was arrested twice” during her senior year. However she said those incidents were not “her fault.” Along with her reckless driving, she says she, “couldn’t keep [her] hands on the wheel” (113). This act of carelessly driving reveals that in a way, she does not care much about herself in those accidents since she does not own up to her actions and simply states that she “couldn’t” hold on to the steering wheel and talks about the accidents and arrest so casually despite the fact that her life was at risk. Della also portrays how people harm themselves when trying to cope with problems by using drugs. On nights when, “the pain wasn’t so bad,” she would go downstairs and “smoke a joint” (115-116). Drugs such as marijuana work as stimulant and a depressant, which means they can enhance mood and put someone is a state of relaxation. For that reason, many people, including Della, use it to cope with their pain. After caring for her mother, “six terrifying hours every night,” she uses the drug to help her escape her problems (115).

The five-minute warning bell goes off. I rush to my first class of my junior year, eager to see my classmates, who I was going to spend the rest of the 9 months with. I find myself stumbling into a classroom plastered with decorations of Denzel Washington with a Dr. Seuss book in his hand, a t and college flags galore. My AP English 11 class suddenly seemed so appealing to me. As a beautiful, curly haired short lady stood in front of me and said “Welcome to AP English 11,” I knew that I had found a treasure so much greater than just a pretty classroom. Little did I know, that short lady was going to inspire me throughout my challenge filled second-to-last year of high school.

She was in her room. Alone on a windy day the smoke she was creating was circulating all over the house. The smoke was transparent and smelled of Cannabis Sativa. She didn’t want to be bothered. All was quiet the only thing she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat. Then she began to feel weird. She felt something in her stomach. Was it remorse? Maybe it was happiness. Or maybe it was even the feeling of accomplishment. But right after the feeling, her mother comes barreling into the room.

The novel Go Ask Alice, written by an anonymous teenage girl, consists of her thoughts, musings, and feelings throughout her ever worsening battle with drugs. Before the life-altering party that introduced her to this life of addiction, Alice was a typical teenage girl who faced the fears and unknown of moving to a new town and school, feelings of nonacceptance from her friends and peers, body issues, and pressure from her parents. The argument can be made that one of the many roots of Alice’s worsening habit is mainly her relationship with her mother and father; however, once Alice has left her family in search of her next high and life on her own, she began to long for them once again. Although she ran away from her life and family twice, each time Alice was accepted home with loving, caring arms. So while her parents may have played a role in her delving into the life of drugs to escape her woes, they could also be considered one of her potentially saving graces toward the end of the novel. However, no matter the amount of effort Alice or her family put forth into her recovery, the drugs ultimately won the battle for Alice’s life.

I really enjoyed this chapter and there are some dynamics that I know all too well. The family model and the complexities are something I haven’t know until more recent, at least a certain dynamic of it. I families want and expect me to be a certain way. I think about my wife and how she would try to exclude me and how she seemed happier when I was on drugs. She grew up in a family of six where the father, for the most part was absent. Lee had left for four years of Kyia’s life for reasons I never pursued and probably aren’t known, meaning that rarely does a person commit to such a change without have multiple motivators. For the most part I wasn’t a drug user throughout our marriage, my faith was extremely important to me, and still is.

She would take Ritalin to help her stay up at night to finish papers, and the first she did was in college to help her relax and focus. She knew she was addicted to drugs in college, but still graduated with from a top university, with a dual Masters. She secured a great job after graduation, and moved in with her boyfriend. It was around a year later she found out she was pregnant. Her boyfriend was also using drugs and was controlling. He insisted that she have an abortion, because “what was he going to do with a child”. She mentioned, “killing her baby” was the hardest thing she has ever had to do.

It was a peaceful and normal first hour. Well, at least for the people in it. Everyone was yelling, and the teacher had just given up on trying to stop them, and now was just browsing for a retirement home in Key West. I looked up at Jordan, who was my best and only friend. Her spiked blond hair was never put down, even in the toughest rain. Her tan legs sat on top of her desk, and her pine green eyes scanned the school newspaper.

Shawn Torrent was sitting in his math class at Palm beach k-12 school, he looked up from his work to see that his teacher, Mrs. Clarke, was no longer writing a problem on the board, or even in the classroom. Shawn looked around the room, as a few other students started to realize that she wasn’t there. Some of the kids from Shawn’s class, including his best friend Cody Mitchell, stood up and walked to the hallway. Shawn followed everyone into the hallway, where he noticed kids from other classes had done the same. He had asked multiple people what was going on, but got no response from anyone. Then Shawn looked down the hallway and saw Alana Morrison come out of her advanced algebra class. He had always liked Alana, but they had never really

Taste Berries for Teens Bettie B. Youngs and Jennifer Leigh Youngs Pages: 339 Title: My Girlfriend Comes First Author: Matt Jensen This story is about a 17-year-old boy named Matt who was in high school. Matt had a really hard time prioritizing his time. Matt was on the varsity football team, and when he wasn’t playing football he was playing for the school band.

She had returned from a family vacation to Hawaii and bought all of the bedding and school supplies she needed to move into her dorm at San Diego State University. Her parents were thrilled that she was just forty minutes from home and could visit often. Kim was ever more excited for what lied ahead of her, a new school, new friends, and she was especially excited to be out on her own! She was officially an adult, free to make her own decisions and to do as she pleased. One night Kim made a poor decision that would cut her life a lot shorter than expected. That feeling of freedom and power would all end in a heartbeat. Kim was always sheltered by her parents as she was growing up and had never stepped foot into the real world. Now, it was staring her straight in the face. One night she decided to attend a party with some friends not knowing what was in store for her. She was roaring with excitement and couldn’t wait to get there and experience college. During the party, Kim decided to try a drug that was offered to her by a tall, handsome boy. She accepted, thinking it would do her no harm to just try it once. She did

Kiah is a 20 year old, 2nd generation sophomore. She has been educated in predominantly white schools since she was young, although she lived in a predominantly black neighborhood and church. Kiah has male trust issues due to a sexual assault that she experienced in high school by a boy who attended the same church. She blamed herself and denied that it was rape. Not only is Kiah having a hard time trusting males due to her assault she is having a hard time finding her own identity. She attends a predominantly white University but has built a relationship with the African American community on campus. She feels as though she is between two worlds due to her social life being with the black students and her academic life being with the white

Once this girl started with the drugs, she could not stop. As soon as she tried the first drug, it lead to all of the other drugs and things that she did. Her first time doing the drug was an accident, and she did not know, but she made the wrong choice in continuing to do them. She said it gave her a feeling of belonging and love that she had never felt before. If her parents or her close friends had paid more attention to her, then some of the events that happened would not have happened. Her heavy drug use lead to her runaway from home to the streets, involvement in crime, her prostitution, and her visit to the insane asylum. She found a "best friend" (Chris) - one that would give her drugs - and they decided to runaway and leave their family and friends to start their own shop in San Francisco. They thought they could not handle their parents telling them what is right and what is wrong, but that is what they needed to hear. They were naive in thinking they could live their lives alone without any rules or any authority.

Nicole Rebello, 12, was devoted to her varsity volleyball team during her first three years of high school. It was only until this past August when she decided to make some last minute changes. “I didn’t feel like high school volleyball was the best fit for me at the time so I decided to take on cross country” says Rebello. After a lot of thinking, she decided the right answer was right in front of her. “I decided to do something far from what I was used to doing which in this case, was cross country” she explained. As she ran with the team more and more, everything became familiar to her. She started running during her free time in order to prepare herself for her first meet. “Going into my first race I didn’t really have any emotion because

A girl named Olive was always up to try new things. She liked the thrill of doing something new. One day she was at her cousins house and he had some weed in his room and asked if she would like to try it. She said yes because what was the harm? She thought she would try it and never do it again, but she tried it and liked the buzz she got. After that she smoked for about 2 years until she tried some more drugs. The drugs she took ranged from smoking weed to shooting heroin. She started dating a guy named Matthew and he did drugs also. They loved each other and got married. After a few years of marriage, Olive found out she was pregnant. While she was pregnant she continued to do drugs, even though she knew she should not. She could not stop