#BirdvilleVoices

This digital literary magazine is a compilation of writings from the budding 6th grade authors around the district. Please enjoy their insights, humor, and writer's craft.

Meeting Kathy

I stand alone on the cheery playground staring down at the ground. It was the third day of fifth grade and I hadn’t spoken to anyone. This is normal, but I begin to worry about making new friends.

I scan the playground in search of something to do, but stop when I spot a girl sitting alone. I had been planning to talk to her, since she was a new student. I begin to walk toward her until I start to question myself. Can I talk to her? How do I talk to her? What if I mess up and she hates me? After taking a few minutes to calm down I trudge over to the bench and take a seat.

Now that I was sitting next to her there was no turning back. I open my mouth to introduce myself, but no words come out. My body tenses up and I sit there frozen not knowing what to say or do. I can’t just sit there without saying anything!

“Do you have a sister?” I yell out under pressure.

She looks at me with an almost scared face, nods, then quickly turns away. I look down in embarrassment know I had just messed up. Both of us sit in silence for what seems like forever until I decide to apologize.

“Look, I’m really sorry. I’m not that good at speaking.” I whisper.

Luckily she laughs and says,”It’s fine. I’m Kathy by the way.”

“I’m Kathleen, what’s your name?” I immediately realize my mistake and turn beet red. Both of us laugh and walk into the giant field.

For the rest of the recess we get to know each other's interests, hobbies, and other facts. Just as our conversation had started recess had sadly ended, so we lined up. When we begin to walk inside the school I was proud to think that I had just made a friend on my own for the first time.

Christmas Eve

It was a chilly morning

It smelled like hot chocolate boiling

My little brother playing

In the snow,

My dog rolling in the ice.

Mother called us inside for breakfast.

Freshly cooked pancakes,

With delicious syrup on the top,

Melting the butter

In the evening my little brother and I

Watch the snow fall once again.

It finally stops

And we have a battle

My little brother and I throwing snowballs

Until we both get tired.

Go inside and

put our pajamas on.

Ahhhhh Christmas Eve

“Spooky Story”

I could feel another set of eyes watching me. Being trapped in a deserted museum wasn’t the best thing. However I felt some one or something watching me. I liked exploring places but this I didn’t want to explore. I was traped looking around for an exit but no luck. I saw a big shadow getting closer but I saw nothing. I walked faster and faster as my heart beat rose. I turned around only to see a terrifing monster that sent chills down my spine. I ran down a hallway only to see him again. I ran back and saw the door open. Once I got close the door...it closed. I ran into an empty room hiding in the corner confused not knowing what to do. (To be continued)

Depression is a topic that people often misinterpret as a phrase that is not serious and will fade over time. Another misconception is that depression only affects the weak and lonely, and medicine can help eliminate it.

ACHA (American College Health Association’s) surveyed college students at two and four-year institutions found about 30 percent of college students reported feeling “so depressed that it was difficult to function” at some time in the year. “I think most students neglect to care for their mental health because they may think that they don’t need it, and that they won’t benefit from it,” said Marina Teo.

According to NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health), many college students who struggle with depression are not seeking help. They may not know of any resources, or they may believe that treatment will not work for them.

The ACHA claims stress in moderation may actually be beneficial, claiming that managing stress rather than eliminating it all together may be healthier for students overall mental well-being. Stress is a double-edge sword; without consistent rest periods while under,irregular habit may begin to surface. Diet changes, sleeping patterns, fatigue, and anxiety are common occurrences among college students who mishandle stress.

In 2011, the ADDA’s national survey found more than 62 percent of students withdrew from college with mental health problems did so because of anxiety. “Depression and anxiety has effected me to the point that I’ve gone part time in attendance with school for a few semesters,” Ata Tousi said.

Doctors are not certain whether depression is passed on through genetics or whether the mental illness is purely psychological and physical. According to a Stanford study, if someone has a parent or sibling with major depression, that person probably has a 20 to 30 percent greater risk to get the ailment compared to the average person who has a mere 10 percent chance.

“When an individual is more aware and can identify why they feel and think a certain way, they develop better coping skills to cope with difficult situations.”

Teachers and Students

As you know, teachers are amazing people, but not even teachers know everything. Maybe you know something that your teacher doesn’t know.That is why you need to learn from your teacher and they need to learn from you.

Teachers have amazing knowledge that they share with their students. Even when you don’t understand something, your teacher will take the time to help you learn. You should acknowledge how amazing your teachers because they work hard for their students every day.

Students also have knowledge that they can share with their teachers. For example most teachers don’t really understand pokemon go, but their students may understand how to play and can teach it to them. Students also have the knowledge to teach their teachers all about kid slang. Teachers should appreciate what they are able to learn from their students.

It is very important for both teachers and students to continue to learn from one another. If teachers and students did not both learn from each other . school wouldn’t be a very fun place. Students help teachers understand what they need to reteach or spend more time on. Teachers help students understand what they need to work a little harder on. Things work best when teachers and students work together.

It is crucial that teachers and students learn from each other. This gives everyone a chance to gain knowledge from a different perspective.

Dribble!Dribble!The ball goes across the court.

Whoosh!The ball goes around the rim of the hoop.

Shoosh!As the ball makes it in the hoop.

Clap!Cheer!Whistle!The referee blows the whistle.

Bounce,Bounce,Bounce pass as the ball flies,slapped the ball got by a player.

Boom!Smash slam dunk.

Woo!Woo!As the big crowd cheers.

Staying Healthy and Fit

Many people these days don’t actually care about staying fit and healthy. You see that guy at McDonald’s ordering 10 cheeseburgers and a large soda for himself. That’s called an unhealthy lifestyle and he may run on his treadmill for an hour each day but honestly, it doesn’t look like it’s helping him at all.

Why it’s so Crucial to Stay Healthy

So you may be pondering, “So I’m not healthy, it’s not like I’m going to die!” Sure, you may not die but there are other effects on your body. Undesirable fat is one that many people, (especially women), hate. All the stomach fat that you wish you didn’t have shows because you decided to wear a tight shirt. Another effect is high blood pressure. Studies show that active people don’t get as much high blood pressure than sedentary people. This last one is the most critical and worst effect that no one wants, diabetes. Yes! Diabetes can arise when you overeat or don’t exercise. I’m not lying, I did research.

Ways to Start a Healthy Lifestyle

The best approach of starting a healthy lifestyle is to, of course, not overeat. Overeating sometimes occurs when you get bored and you pull out a bag of chips or some leftover pizza to eat. Talking about chips and pizza, don’t eat too much junk food. I’m talking about McDonald's and Chick-Fil-A and all the fast food restaurants you go to. Starting to exercise is another way to begin a healthy lifestyle. If you work nearby, bike or maybe even walk there. Walking around your house after eating a meal or just 15 minutes on the treadmill will also help.

How to Maintain that Healthy Lifestyle

So you’ve begun trying my tips on ways to start a healthy lifestyle but you lasted for about a week. What are we missing here? Motivation! Motivation and determination are keys to starting and maybe finishing a goal that you’ve set for yourself. One way of staying motivated is by having a picture of present day self at home so you remember to exercise and eat less. Or you could have a picture of how you would like to look like, either way, it usually works.

Staying healthy and fit is an essential component of life that creates a pleasant and peaceful lifestyle. You might not even be that person who orders 10 burgers at McDonald’s anymore!

Lost

Around me are shadows .

Shadows that move and give the creeps .

The sounds of the night go on and on .

I sprint everywhere I go .

I turn left and right hoping to return.

But it seems wherever I go it's the same .

With sinking hope I try to navigate through the forest .

Finally I reach home just before daybreak .

LIFE

LIfe is about

Being yourself

Not

Being

Someone else

Life is

About spending

Time with

Loved ones

And friends

Life should be about

Being

Loved

Not

Hated

Life is about

Many things

But most importantly

Life is about being yourself

While being loved

“Trick, Treat, or Kill”

I could feel another set of eyes watching me and of course it was my friend sneaking up behind me attempting to scare me. As my friend looked disappointed that he had failed, I responded, “Give it a rest Alex, you can’t scare me you know that”, turned around and continued to walk to class. “Wait Gwen! I wanted to see if you wanted to go to the Halloween party at Zoe’s house?” Alex said trying to get my attention. I took a short pause. “Is my friend asking me out?” I thought. “Of course! I mean yeah sure.” I’ve never been good at playing it cool. That night I got in my Dorothy costume from The Wizard of Oz. Alex met me at my house and we walked to Zoe’s house which wasn’t far from my house. As we were walking a stranger in a gray hoodie and jeans (which seemed to have blood on it) started to approach us, my stomach started aching as I shook. Soon the stranger came running after us, me and Alex ran and ended up in an abandoned museum. It was creepy yet kind of cool. Yet when we thought we were safe we weren’t! The stranger got close to us, eventually we were cornered and we hugged each other, hoping everything was a dream. It wasn’t. I’m not sure what exactly happened or who the person was, but I ended up being in heaven, holding hands with Alex.

Snow

White, wonderful,

Without a doubt whimsical,

Wishingly wondrous,

Snow.

Brilliantly breathtaking,

By the way beautiful,

Basically brilliant,

Snow.

Peculiarly perfect,

Pretty much a present,

Precisely peaceful,

Snow.

Super spectacular,

So very special,

Swimmingly surreal,

Snow.

Everyone has had a first day of school. Some people have good ones and some people have bad ones, kinda like little brothers. I am going to tell you about my first day of 6th grade. It was a sad, disappointing, and embarrassing day.

The first day of 6th grade was sad because I wasn’t feeling good, and I was very tired the night before and in the morning so I almost fell asleep in class. In addition I missed my old school, my old teachers and my old classmates. I even missed the old lunches.

It was embarrassing because I went to the wrong class. I went to Mr. Duncan’s Pre AP class but I was supposed to be in Mr. Bigg’s class. I also had to talk in front of my class about myself and I cried because of how embarrassed I was (I don't like to talk in front of people about myself.)

The day was disappointing because a lot of people were cursing and I didn’t like that at all. I was disappointed in how other kids acted. But what disappointed me mostly was how long the day seemed to be. I also didn't like the fact that the day was extremely boring.

I had a rough first day of school, but so far it has definitely gotten better! I am now much more comfortable with my classes and teachers. I even talk in class, but I still don’t enjoy it.

Middle school

This is a scary time

We are all confused

In order to get through

We have to work together

And stay by each other's side

To survive this scary place

We have to look at it differently

And it'll all be alright

Because this is preparation

For high school

Staples

All I heard was a murdering scream, the parents rushed over. I ran to the stairs and watched my brother fall to the as blood poured out of his head. I didn't know what happened or how it happened. As I watch the parents go back and forth from the kitchen to the stairs with paper towels, I wanted to ask what happened but, every time I tried the words never came out. I was so worried and felt so alone.

I had so many questions to ask, was he ok, what happened, or even was he going to live. After about twenty to twenty-five minutes everyone had calmed down and were all gathered in the kitchen asking my brother question after question. I figured it was my turn to ask some questions. It turns out that he had been playing tag and had ran into the stair rail, which caused him to crack his head open.

My parents were checking him for a concussion. Then ended up taking him to the hospital, which caused him to stay over night. The next day he came home with three staples in his head.

He said they didn't hurt but, I didn't believe him. I will never forget that day and definitely will remember not to run in the house.

Leaves

The leaves dance

In the air left

to right spin and

spin through the air.

The leaves fall

asleep in winter

and autumn and

rise up in spring.

The leaves change

clothes every season

Red, orange, yellow, and

green always different.

The leaves have

reunions they all

get together in

big high trees.

The leaves go to

vacation they fly

everywhere to new places.

Coffee’s kiss

There are interesting things that

Live happily here and forever,

dripping goes the dark blue beauty.

Just a simple walk down

Easy Street, consumed in gray.

A smile on the clothes soaked,

but nothing changes.

In the blue, red, and white.

A warm drink cheers

them up, maybe just them.

But it’s love to them.

Just a sip of it.

Monster

A blue monster with goat like horns and a spiked tail. His name was Pete but of course no one would know tt because he spent his whole life running away. He was cold and wet from swimming in the lake while running away like always. He shivered as he walked through the dark woods. He was lost and alone. Pete picked up his ears to hear the sounds of footsteps. CRUNCH. CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

His eyes widened as he saw a flame and an old scratchy voice, “Hello.” It was an old man. His face was pale and three gray hairs were going to the right. He had soft blue eyes and wrinkles. He twirled around the torch in his hand. Pete stepped closer sniffing the old man from a reasonable distance. The man’s eyes laid on him shining a light blue. Then all Pete’s nightmares came true. The people had killed his parents chased him and he did the only thing he could, he ran.

He had been running long before he tripped over a dead piece of wood. He townspeople turned into one person with a cold laugh the flame burning on his torch like the fire in his blue eyes. Pete gave a quick warning growl as he lifted his spiked tail up. The man lunged at him the embers falling to the ground right as Pete lunged… after that all you heard was the scream of a monster, but who was the true monster?

I’m going to tell you about my first day of middle school at NRMS because it was uplifting, a totally different experience, but most of all, it was completely and most definitely petrifying!

It was uplifting because I saw all of my friends from last year. They are the best people I’ve ever met in my whole life. They also help take my mind off of things that I dread about after school.

The first day was a different experience because there are so many people everywhere! They push and bump into you in the hallway and it gets annoying. I’ve seen kids slam each other into the lockers when teachers aren’t looking.

It was terrifying because I got lost. I didn’t see anyone that I knew, so I wandered around near the door of a science teacher’s classroom. I did not receive a map like everybody else. I leaned against the wall, thinking about being late on the first day. That would be more embarrassing than going to ask that science teacher for the 10th time where Theatre was, so I asked. He seemed annoyed and he kind of yelled at me. Fortunately for me, I found Theatre. Unfortunately for that science teacher, I was not the only one lost.

I just told you about my first day of middle school. It is a fun and exciting experience. It’s also not as bad as it may seem. You should try it!

When I was 7 years old, I lost my grandma. She had Ovarian cancer and was suffering from it for years on end. She was incessantly smiling about everything including me taking time out of my day to read to her. The worst part was the fact that my family and I knew she was in a lot of pain yet she still kept a smile on her face and a positive attitude. The pain got to a point where she was in a wheelchair and coughing up blood most of her days. Not long after I was awoken by the sound of a phone call , then shortly told in concern "Get in the car , we're going to your tia's house.", I was curious and frightened the entire car ride there. No one said a word about what was going on, but once we got the house I knew what was going on because the family was crying with an ambulance truck in the background. After the cremation me and my family all took a trip to her favorite place , Port Aransas , to spread her ashes.We all miss her so much but we all know she is in a better place.

PURPLE

Purple is a beautiful color.

Purple is as sweet as the juicy grapes and plums that sit in the fruit bowl.

It’s as soft and smooth as the blanket I cover myself with during the night.

When I think of purple I can see a beautiful lightish-darkish color that represents the color of heaven.

Purple has an aroma of the charming spray of perfume, or the exquisite purple petunias that make my garden admirable.

You can hear the ocean waves splashing, or the wind rustling through the leaves of the trees while the sun awakens.

Out of all the colors, purple is the one I most desire.