I would never have told you that eighth grade was going to be my best year yet. Especially after a bad 7th grade, my expectations were low walking in. I surprised myself, though. This year I look back and can’t believe the gutsy moves I pulled, or the choices I made. I don’t regret a thing, though. My theme song this year was Could Have Been Me, by the rock band The Struts. My year reflected the song’s themes of being bold, feeling everything (good or bad), and never missing out. In the end, those ideas were key to my success in eighth grade. First, this year I wanted to stick out, to be loud and proud no matter what happened. “Don't wanna live as an untold story, Rather go out in a blaze of glory”, the song goes. Here, the band was trying …show more content…
I knew that it wasn’t all going to be good, but I want to go through it anyways. “I wanna taste love and pain, Wanna feel pride and shame”, the song agrees. This is a man who wants to feel emotion. He understands that he can’t have the positive without the negative, and is ready to accept both. He wants to experience, to enjoy it and not shield himself from the world. Again, this was a parallel of my life. Coming off of the experiences I had, it would be natural to shelter myself from the bad parts of growing up and simply try not to feel emotions. I have a lot of friends who do exactly that, who keep their heads down and focus on their work. The important thing is that I didn’t. I walked in with the attitude that this was going to sting, and that’s okay. I talked to the girls I liked rather than hiding away. Just that was major I knew how easily I could be shot out of the sky with a word. I experienced that firsthand, but I kept trying. I wanted to feel that pride and those feelings for another, even if that came with the pitfall of rejection. And when I talked to those girls, I may not have succeeded in my original mission, but I made great friendships. I became part of many friend groups (5, I think, but I’m not sure), and my confidence soared. I was good enough to hang out with these people, which meant that I was desirable, worth a friendship, I was cared for. Who cares what some girl thinks when I have all these great people …show more content…
“Don't wanna live as an unsung melody, I'd rather listen to the silence telling me, I can't hear you, I won't fear you”, The Struts sing. The symbolism of an unsung melody is very much like the untold story earlier in the song. It represents something that could have been, but never was. It represents something that missed its chance to be great. The line “I won’t fear you” is not as symbolic, but it is still major to the song. It is the singer stating that he’s not scared of fate and of what could happen. Just from listening to the song you could tell this, from its bold sound and the fearlessness in his tone. Here we find yet another thing relating to my year. I didn’t want to leave MME quietly. I wanted to go out in a bang, I wanted to go out with a show. I decided to leave middle school on a high note. I wanted to be proud of myself and live up to my own expectations. Walking in to sixth grade, I had high sights not just on being smart, but an athlete as well. So with no experience, I joined the track team as a sprinter and a hurdler in the spring of this year. I was the slowest runner there, but I didn’t care. Because I didn’t fear defeat, I came out of nowhere and finished 7th at the conference championships in the 800 meters (10 seconds faster than my PR). I am now the second fastest at MME. Did I get nervous? Absolutely. To this day I get anxiety when I hear a starting gun in a movie. But even
The speaker wants the audience to work hard and not have a feeling of entitlement such as: “Don’t expect a free ride from no one” (17). By using “from no one” the speaker is emphasizing to really not expect something, but to work hard for it. Also, a hyperbole exists when the speaker says, “Bitterness keeps you from flyin’” (19). The purpose of the hyperbole is to show that if you are bitter it is going to impede you from going on with your life. In the next stanza two contradictory ideas are present, “Know the difference between sleeping with someone/ and sleeping with someone you love” (21-22). These ideas are saying you can do this or that it is up to you. No one is making the choice except you so make sure you understand what is happening before you choose. These ideas of to not be entitlement and to be happy is the message the speaker is trying to get
For example, the narrator highlights the silver lining in many of his experiences throughout the song, claiming “A fake Jamaican took every last dime with that scam” (9). Subsequently following it with, “It was worth it just to learn some sleight of hand” (10). The narrator tells us he was robbed, yet it is okay because he learned a skill and a lesson. He knows he will not repeat the same mistake in the future, compared to someone who did not have the same negative experience. Having a positive outlook on life is essential for good mental health.
The first question was, “Have you ever traveled out of the country?”. All the girls answered confidently about all the countries they have visited and even added stories about their travels. Every girl there had the opportunity to visit countries across the ocean. As my turn reached and they tossed the ball to me, I answered honestly, “ I have never been out of the country”. In response, a girl questions, “What about Mexico?” suggesting that because of my mexican background I had visited Mexico. All the girls began to giggle and I remember thinking that I could not last an entire week amongst those girls. The hour went by and all I learned about my floor mates was that their school and town offered so much compared to mine. Every conversation started during that first hour was a battle about who was the best. I realized how I did not belong but had to make myself stand out and use my differences to my advantage. So, I began to show who I was and did not let any intimidation bring me down. During my time at California Girls State, I ran for office positions, was involved in many debates, and befriended
The reason for my nervousness was because it was the last rodeo of the High School Rodeo season. The last rodeo just so happened to be the short round of the state finals. The short round was the top 15 cowboys out of the entire state. I had qualified 15th out of about 45 other cowboys in the calf roping. That may sound like it was a great accomplishment, but it really wasn't because I knew I was better than at least ten of the other guys that qualified in front of me. I knew myself that I was someone to watch; even if no one else knew.
This song talks a lot about the baggage of the past that people hold onto instead of letting it go. All that baggage is only going to end up hurting you more and more instead of helping you in any way possible. An example is the opening
I had met and was friends with all the girls that were in the The Crew before we officially formed our little girl group in 6th grade. I was (and still am) a rather shy and introverted girl. In elementary school, I always had friends but most of the time I just never felt I could be myself around them. They would ask, "Sarah,
8th grade, 8th grade from the opening day to the signing of the yearbooks. This is the year of memories, goodbyes, and regrets. 8th grade and I’m still realizing that there are people in the world that would die to go to a school like this. A school where every body knows everyone’s name, respects everyone, and where violence and fighting are about as common as the Yankees missing the playoffs. When I’m done with my homework and go to bed, as the days of 8th grade wind down, summer will come and go, and I will find myself in one of those giant, scary places called high school.
I tried never to go anywhere on-campus alone. I usually walked with two or three girls that I knew I could trust.
High school is meant to be the time of your life, but for most seniors just like me it can be some of the most emotional and crazy time. The things in my past make me who I am today, and the things I do now are the first footsteps into the future. I’ve learned a lot about myself in these past four years, and I still have so much learning to do. This is my high school story; the good, bad, and the ugly.
As young girl with big dreams I imagined my senior year of high school to be one of the best years of my life. I imagined going to homecoming with all of my friends, being the captain of the varsity soccer and cheerleading teams, going to Friday night football games, going to Prom with my perfect date, and going on a senior trip with all of my best friends. I never imagined my senior year to be the way that it is. I am the new kid.
An anonymous author once said, "What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now." Over the course of my school years, it has been an exciting and shocking experience. These experiences have been an enjoyable journey from my elementary to middle school years. However, after several years the end of my middle school adventure is coming to a close. Soon my new journey will start as a freshman. Eight grade will surely be one of my most memorable years. It has been an absolute wonderful one hundred eighty days, and I will miss some of the aspects of eight grade—but certainly not all of it.
This song is an excellent example of the empowerment women and men may need occasionally. When someone is faced with a painful situation, people basically show two kinds of reaction: giving up or struggling. Those who decide to give up will usually keep complaining and blaming others for the situation they face. In contrast, those who decide to struggle, even though initially show almost the same reactions as the first group of people, they will finally choose to look at the good side of the situation they face. The process of being down, looking for the positives, and avoiding negative thoughts or feelings may be difficult but could ultimately result in the greatest gift of all, happiness.
...composer of this song is what sets a tone of peace, freedom and hope in this lyric. For example, expression like soldiers passing by in an August summer night, makes a contrast between danger and peace. Yet, the peaceful tone predominates because the soldiers are also “listening to the wind of change.” Another expression that depicts a peaceful tone in this song is the expression “peace of mind,” which is an example of imagery to evoke a feeling of serenity, and consequently a peaceful tone. A tone of freedom is clearly represented with the repetition of the idea of “where children of tomorrow share dreams,” as well as with the phrase “freedom bell.” Finally, of hope is set by the repetition of connotative figures like “magic moment” and “glory night.”
go out with me? Girls at school call me names, so why is interested? I instantly became sick, I got
He strives for this feeling of liberation while remaining self-aware that life is composed of both good and bad moments in which you must learn to embrace both. Through my own personal experiences, I’ve been able to recognize this as well. We cannot control what happens to us, but we can learn to pace ourselves and take life day by day. I’m constantly reminding myself to not worry about the future and what it beholds yet rather learn to enjoy myself and live in the moment. One of the main reasons I connect with this song is because the chorus reflects on taking your time on the ‘’ride’’ that is your own life. I believe it’s important to not worry over something that hasn’t happened yet or may never happen. There’s no reason to rush our lives nor compare ourselves to others and how well they’re doing. I’ve learned it’s harmful to dwell on the future and forget to enjoy the moment. We should focus on ourselves and how you can achieve all you desire on your own