Coming of Age Final

'Cuz Jersey just got colder and
I'll have you know I'm scared to death
That everything that you had said to me was just a lie until you left

Now I'm hoping just a little bit stronger
Hold me up just a little bit longer
I'll be fine, I swear
I'm just gone beyond repair
-Jersey, Mayday Parade

     To be fair, I really was scared to death. Shaking legs and twisted headphones, I watched as our car passed the "Welcome back" sign. With music blaring in my ears, our white Toyota Sienna turned into the parking lot. I could see hordes of kids greeting each other with smiles and hugs as the car slowed to a stop. Stepping out, I hear "Bye, sweetie. Have a good day! Make new friends!" behind me. Right, as if I had any to begin with.
     Moving from a private school to a public school was a drastic change for me. Private school was everything I've ever known, and here I was at Moanalua Middle School. There were no longer butterflies in my stomach, but angry bears clawing at my insides as my nervousness grew. Students at Punahou hated Kamehameha, but they hated public schoolers even more. "You're moving schools?" my friend asked. "Wow, I feel really bad for you. You could be raped or killed; I heard that some crazy kid brought a gun to school and killed his entire class!" Not necessairily the first thing you'd want to hear. Walking through the foyer, I hear whispers trailing behind me.
     "Is that the private school girl?"
     "I heard she's a snob."
     "Are you kidding me? All private schoolers are snobs."
     "I bet she's rich."
     "She probably thinks she's better than us. I mean, look at her."

     Months had passed, and it didn't get better. Each day felt like a scheduled punishment, only to be repeated each week. I felt miserable. I was still the private school snob that no one talked to. I kept quiet throughout my classes, not wanting to be judged. My teachers became my friends; their classrooms my cafeteria. Almost everyone that I tried to talk to would scoff, walk away, or both. The rejection was annoying, but bearable. The taunts still followed wherever I went, each more crushing than the one before. I've heard it all by then. So far, I was living in a mansion, had private tutors and a lot of money, and was the weird, conceited, freaky genius girl from Punahou. When my mom asked how school went, I made up names of fake friends in fake stories having fake fun. In reality, I was lonely and friendless. It didn't seem like things would change for a while.

     Staring at the ticking clock, I switched my focus to the whiteboard and our teacher, who was going over a project that we would later submit to a university in Arizona. The talking started to fade as I started intently at the clock, silently begging it to declare the end of the school day. Tick. Tick. Tick. It seemed like the clock was mocking me. Ha. Ha. You. Have. No. Friends. Even the clock was making fun of me now. I'd officially hit a new low. Whilst incoherently muttering about how much I hated class, I felt something light brush my shoulder. I jumped slightly as I whipped my head to the left in surprise. The girl in the next row was leaned over towards me. "Do you know what time class ends?" she whispered. Staring at her in shock for a bit, I registered what she had asked and sighed louder than I meant to. I fumbled as I reached into my backpack and opened my planner, amazed at this rare occurrence of social interaction. "10:45." I replied in a monotone voice. "Thanks!" Her bubbliness was overpowering and slightly disturbing, and then she said something that added to my growing perturbation.
     "So, you're from Punahou?" I froze. It was the first time anyone had chosen to carry a conversation with me that was neither relative nor teacher. I freaked out in my head, but my face showed no change in expression. "Uh, yeah." Insert awkward silence and a sudden interest in my planner. The corner of her mouth slowly turned up. "You don't talk very much, do you?" "Uhh," I started shakily, "Most people seem like they don't like me, so I just keep  to myself." She stared at me in wonderment, as if I was crazy. "Why would you care about what other people think?" My eyebrows furrowed, perplexed, as she continued. "You seem super smart, smarter than a majority of our school, and you care what they think? It doesn't really make sense to me." She shook her head in emphasis, expecting a response of some type. I processed this, slowly understanding what she was trying to tell me. The realization hit me, setting off fireworks in my head and my eyes widened. With a new perspective, I smiled as my eyes met hers. She smiled too, as if she were proud that I finally understood. The words she spoke after that changed my entire year's outcome. "My name's Allie," she said. "Might sound weird, but do you want to be friends?"

     Within the next week, I started to speak up in class and talk to the people that sat around me. Those whom I befriended saw that I wasn't a stuck up snob as they thought, and saw I was just another person. The funny thing was, I did too. I learned that these people weren't here to judge me because of the school I used to go to; they were just kids sent here to learn, just like me. I didn't have to be afraid of them or their opinions. No opinion is right or wrong, good or bad. In addition to that, it was the day I realized that people will never stop judging. Whether out loud or silently, consciously or not, there will never be a time when I'm not being judged. I could let that bother me, or just brush it off. In my case, I gently shoved it off a cliff.
  

Coming of Age Draft

'Cuz Jersey just got colder and
I'll have you know I'm scared to death
That everything that you had said to me was just a lie until you left

Now I'm hoping just a little bit stronger
Hold me up just a little bit longer
I'll be fine, I swear
I'm just gone beyond repair

     To be fair, I really was scared to death. Shaking legs and twisted headphones, I watched as our car passed the "Welcome back" sign. With music blaring in my ears, our white Toyota Sienna turned into the parking lot. I could see hordes of kids greeting each other with smiles and hugs as the car slowed to a stop. Stepping out, I hear "Bye, sweetie. Have a good day! Make new friends!" behind me. Right, as if I had any to begin with.
     Moving from a private school to a public school was a drastic change for me. Private school was everything I've ever known, and here I was at Moanalua Middle School. Students at Punahou hated Kamehameha, but they hated public schoolers even more. "You're moving schools?" my friend asked. "Wow, I feel really bad for you. You could be raped or killed; I heard that some crazy kid brought a gun to school and killed his entire class!" Not necessairily the first thing you'd want to hear. Walking through the foyer, I hear whispers trailing behind me. "Is that the private school girl?" "I heard she's a snob." "Are you kidding me? All private schoolers are snobs." "I bet she's rich." "She probably thinks she's better than us. I mean, look at her."
     Months had passed, and it didn't get better. Each day felt like a scheduled punishment, only to be repeated each week. I was still the private school snob that no one talked to, too stuck up for her own good. My teachers became my friends; their classrooms my cafeteria. Almost everyone that I tried to talk to would scoff, walk away, or both. The taunts still followed wherever I went, each more crushing than the one before. I've heard it all by then. So far, I live in a mansion, have private tutors, had a lot of money, and was the weird, conceited, freaky genius private school girl. When my mom asked how school went, I made up names of fake friends in fake stories having fake fun. In reality, I was lonely and friendless. It didn't seem like that would change for a while.
     Staring at the ticking clock, I switched my focus to the whiteboard and our teacher, who was going over a project that we would later submit to a university in Arizona. The talking started to fade as I started intently at the clock, silently begging it to declare the end of the school day. Tick. Tick. Tick. It seemed like the clock was mocking me. Ha. Ha. You. Have. No. Friends. I felt something light brush my shoulder and slightly jumped as I whipped my head to the left in surprise. The girl in the next row was leaned over towards me. "Do you know what time class ends?" she whispered. Staring at her in shock for a bit, I realized what she had asked and sighed louder than I meant to. I reached into my backpack and opened my planner. "10:45." I said in a monotone voice. "Thanks!" Her bubbliness was slightly disturbing, and then she said something.
     "So, you're from Punahou?" I froze. It was the first time anyone had chosen to carry a conversation with me that wasn't either related to me or teaching me. I freaked out in my head, but my face showed no change in expression. "Uh, yeah." Silence. The corner of her mouth slowly turned up. "You don't talk very much, do you?" "Uhh," I started, "Most people seem like they don't like me, so I just keep  to myself." She stared at me in wonderment, as if I was crazy. "Why would you care about what other people think? You seem super smart, smarter than a majority of our school, and you care what they think? It doesn't really make sense to me." When she said that, something snapped in my head, like the pieces of a puzzle coming together. The realization hit me and my eyes widened. I smiled as my eyes met hers. She smiled too, as if it were a silent agreement. The words she spoke after that changed my entire year's outcome. "My name's Allie," she said. "Might sound weird, but do you want to be friends?"
     Within the next week, I started to speak up in class and talk to the people that sat around me. Those whom I befriended saw that I wasn't a stuck up snob as they thought, and saw I was just another person. The funny thing was, I did too. I saw that these people weren't here to judge me because of the school I used to go to; they were just kids sent here to learn, just like me. I didn't have to be afraid of them or their opinions. No opinion is right or wrong, good or bad. In addition to that, it was the day I realized that people will never stop judging. Whether out loud or silently, consciously or not, there will never be a time when I'm not being judged. I could let that bother me, or just brush it off. In my case, I gently shoved it off a cliff.
  

Writing Position Statements

Group Position Statements (Tiffany, Brianna, Dylan):

 1. Tourist deaths at local attractions are the state’s fault because there was a lack of signs posted, they weren’t posted around other potentially hazardous areas, and if there were signs, they weren’t adequately maintained to warn visitors. 

2. Tourists are responsible for their safety when visiting hazardous attractions because signs have preciously been placed in various sights and attractions only to be ignored. The state cannot be held responsible for any lack of common sense on the person’s behalf, and it’s impossible for the state to know every hazardous point of every attractions. It’s the tourist’s responsibility to know which points to avoid.

3. In Hawaii, there are many incidents at tourist attractions, but both sides are at fault because there is a lack of signs on the government’s part. Tourists should also use common sense, and tourist services like Triple A should have warnings about attractions.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mini Essay:

     Every year, thousands of tourists come to Hawaii to get away from the stress of every day life and relax in paradise. Although there are many sights to see, they're just as beautiful as they are deadly. Along with the privilege of seeing the sights comes the risk of being killed or injured. Tourists are responsible for their safety when visiting hazardous attractions because sign have previously been placed at various sites and attractions, only to be ignored. The state cannot be held responsible for any lack of common sense on the person's behalf, and it's impossible for the state to know every hazardous point of every attraction. It is the tourist's responsibility to know which points to avoid and are potentially dangerous. 
     A big part of tourists getting injured when seeing the sights is because a lack of common sense. In 2002, 18-year-old Daniel Dick of Sylmar, California, was killed when he reportedly straddled an explosive water spout at the Halona Blowhole and was lifted three to five feet in the air and dropped headfirst onto a rocky crevice. A warning sign was posted in the parking lot, only to be ignored by Dick as he strolled along the shoreline of Sandy Beach. Although the water spout site was not equipped with signage, it's only common sense to be careful while in close proximity to an explosive water spout, knowing that falling in could be lethal thanks to the sharp rocks below. It's like replacing the water spout with explosives and a detonator. If the sign tells you to be careful about the detonator, you don't straddle it and fall on it and explode into a billion pieces. In another case, witnesses said that David Potts, 44, of San Anselmo, California, was dancing around the blowhole when a large wave struck him from behind and knocked him into the hole. While the Maui Fire Department conducted a three day search, no sign of Potts was found. The Maui Visitors Bureau had not promoted the area as an attraction. The only warning sign was a hand painted sigh that read "Blowhole: Park and walk at your own risk" attached to a rock at the Nakalele Point parking lot. Even if Potts wasn't aware of the sign, it's common sense that you don't dance around a blowhole with your back to the waves that are known to be big and powerful. 
     Although there may be a lack of signs and warnings around certain potentially dangerous sight seeing areas, it's common sense to be precautious around places like a blow hole or a cliff. Why would common sense be called common sense unless it's not common? Everyone may have it, but it's their choice to use it or not. The state cannot be blamed for tourist safety when they are responsible for their own when visiting potentially hazardous sites. 

Revision Process

     My revision process included almost everything about my blog. I changed the background, title, header graphic, and as well as other miscellaneous things. As you can see, I changed my title from "The Never-Ending Story" to "L'heure du thé" or "Tea Time." Tea helps me think, in this case, about the past, present and future. This includes the choices I've made and the choices I'm destined to make. It helps bring change for me in a way. I even buy a different tea every month, and set a new goal along with it.

     The header above took me around 7 minutes. I don't really know how this shows skill; I followed some tutorials online and quirked some of them to suit my liking. For example, the words "tea time" were from a tutorial, but I didn't quite follow through because the finished product looked weird. I just changed some things. I changed the background as well for a cleaner look. It sort of shows off everything else, telling everyone not to mind the background and focus on the posts.

     I organized my archive by most recent to oldest. Seeing as the theme of this year is "coming of age," the past shouldn't be dwelled on. Instead, we should look towards the future and what it may bring us. I didn't include post names because mine are super duper long. The little things that I've changed include link colors, blog width, post font and background color. Like I said, little things.