Writer's Workshop Portfolio

"Student's Lose their Most Important Trait"

 The second that they go through the gigantic front doors of their school, they dread about the day that would be awaiting for them. How they would be picked on, teased about, being picked last for team sports, but most importantly being told lies that sound like the truth: about being worthless, not having a reason to live, being a burden to family and friends, but what stings them the most is that they are a nothing. They start falling into a depression and become more insecure about themselves. With their new fear, they are terrified to tell anyone what is going on. Until one ordinary day that something changes their lives forever.

 Sometimes that change could mean speaking up for yourself. But students don't want to have anyone know what is happening and be known as a "tattle-tale". Becoming quiet can become one of the symptoms of someone being bullied. Bullying is a problem especially at school because it changes the student's confidence to trust in people. According to a survey,10 out of 17 people have said that they have been bullied at HMS. Here is a pie chart of those results. Most students have said that when they have been bullied, it changed their personality to become sad or mean. According to the article "Bullies Beat Down Self Esteem", the author quote, "Most kids don’t tell their parents about bullying right away because of embarrassment, fear of the “snitch” label, or the hope that it will go away on its own, says Robert Sege, M.D., Ph.D., FAAP, director of ambulatory pediatrics at Boston Medical Center." This evidence shows that students are scared to tell anyone that they are bullied because they think that they would now be called a tattle-tale or also think that this problem would be nothing and would be gone in a couple of days. But in reality these problems don't do away. Also from the survey, most students who were bullied became more scared of people who are close to them because some of their friends have been bullying them which can also cause them to be sad or mean.

 We all need to take action about this issue because it affects so many students. According to the article "Bullies Beat Down Self Esteem", the author writes, "In 2005, about 28 percent of 12 to 18-year-old students reported they were bullied at school in the previous six months, according to the U.S. Department of Justice." This statistic shows that students from ages 12 to 18 have said that they have been a victim of bullying. What students have recommended from the survey is that they would tell an adult before things would get out of their control. But students shouldn't be the only group of people that can do anything to prevent bullying. Schools should have more programs or 1 on 1 conversations between students and a social worker to see how they can help that student with whatever is going on. Parents should also talk to their child to see what is going on at school and give them options on how they want to solve the problem, but having the child know that they will be there for them no matter what. Teachers and friends should also let the victims know that they will always be there for them because the victim would want to know that they can have someone to trust instead of the person that is bullying them. Teachers and friends should fill that person with confidence and say positive things about them to help with their self esteem.                                      

                                              Band director of 30 years finally done?!
                                                           
During the spring concert of 2014, it was announced that Mr. Duracta will be retiring from being a band director at HMS. This news was shocking to both parents and band students. The reasoning of this unexpected retirement is that Mr. Duracta wants to do more with his life instead of just band directing. The last time that we all got to see Mr. Duracta direct sixth, seventh and eighth grade band was for the graduating eighth grade class of 2014.
The first people to hear about this unexpected retirement of this beloved band director was his sixth grade band. These students immediately asked for reasons of his retirement. This reason being that he wants to do more with his life left some of his students with shock. But the most powerful emotion that those students felt in that specific moment was depression. Some were scared about this unexpected change because nobody had thought that he wasn't going to be directing band at HMS anymore. "Who will be our band director for next year?" a concerned band student was reported asking to their band director Mr. Duracta. He was reported responding to the concerned band student, "I have no idea." When this was announced during the school's spring concert, parents were less in shock compared to students.
30 years ago in 2014, this beloved band director was hired at HMS. Previous band students who were directed by Mr. Duracta loved his ways of teaching them to become musicians. Some even continued playing their instruments through high school as well because they loved playing music thanks to Mr. Duracta. With this unexpected retirement, the school of HMS had to find a new band director for the new school year of 2014-2015. Some of the students still remember the memories of Mr. Duracta and how they taught them on how to play their instruments for the first time or when they played for the annual Houby Day Parade. Some students reported that performing in the Houby Day Parade was challenging, but it was exciting. When the younger band students heard about the Houby Day Parade, they wanted to be in the next grade so they could be able to play as well.



                                             The Nightmare That Became A Reality


I never knew how lucky I was to have both of my parents with me trying to have me be the best person that I can be until one memory put me to the test: my mom's car accident. It was the toughest moment of my childhood living here because I was only in fourth grade when this happened, so I was still pretty young back then. And I was still protective about the people that I cared for. And one more important thing to note when I was little: I was scared easily. And not going to lie, I am still scared of simple things sometimes but not all the time like back then. I never knew tat I could lose hop with just one action.  
  It was a normal day in my house with my mom, brother and myself. We were already up to start our day. My dad already left for work early that morning so I couldn't see my dad as often as I wanted to, but he was always as work. If I was lucky, I would be able to see my dad when I would come from from school and give him a hug. And my family would all sit down and talk about our day. But usually, that never happened. With my family dinners, it would always be my mom, brother, and myself. And we usually ate quietly with a few comments about my mother's cooking. That is still my life right now.
So as I was going through my routine for school, my mom had to walk my brother to school and he would have to walk all the way to Morton West and that is somewhat far away from where I live. But as I was waiting for my mom, I was starting to become worried because my mom was never late for anything. And if you might ask "Why couldn't you contact your mom to see if everything was okay?" Well the answer was, I didn't have a phone when this event occurred because I was in fourth grade. When somebody knocked on the door, I was scared because I didn't know who it was. But when I opened the door, I found my grandmother with a scared look on her face. With me being little, I didn't understood what was going on.
      "Hola abuelita." I said to my grandmother who stood in front door of my house. "Hola mija. Como estas?" replied my grandmother as always when I saw her. As always I would reply "Bien."
"Puedes a cambiar a tu ropa por favor?" Asked my grandmother with concern in her voice. I replied like a respective granddaughter  "Si Abuelita." As I let my grandmother enter my house, we went into my room painted two shades of pink. As I changed into my favorite rainbow polka-dot leggings, a graphic blue t-shirt, and my sneakers, my grandmother and I went out of my house and into a jet black car that awaited my grandfather. I didn't get to see my grandparents as often as well so I was happy to be with them. But what was strange is that my grandparents weren't driving me to school.
As I observed the car window filled with rain drops, I saw that they were bringing me to the hospital. I didn't know why my grandparents were taking me to the hospital, so I stayed quiet until I would find out why I was there. As we were waiting, I went to look at all of the different colored fish with the rainbow colored rocks that covered the floor of the tank as if it was a magical sea. I noticed how they had the televisions attached to the walls blaring numbers of a winning lottery ticket. I also noticed the tired expressions in other people's faces looking as if they came from the dead like zombies.
      As moments have gone by, my grandparents and I were called to leave the waiting room. But as we were brought to a hospital room, I didn't expect that my worst nightmare to be there. There, I found my mother lying in the hospital bed wearing a light blue hospital gown with dried blood covering her right leg. Then without thinking, I ran to the hospital bed and cried like how the rain poured that day. Weakly my mom said, " Todo va estar bien mi mija." But how could I believe her if she looks as if she was dying in that exact moment, but I did need to have hope because I was the little girl. You might be asking who would take care of me, my mom asked my grandparents if they would take care of me after I would get out of school and during the evening, my dad would pick me and my brother from my grandparents house and start our day and that would be our life routine when my mom was recovering. But the worst part of this routine is that I didn't have my mom to lean on to, to hug and have her there with me. I missed her so much, I would usually cry myself to sleep until I couldn't cry anymore.
      A few more months have gone by and I was becoming worse by the week; my hair was starting to fall off because I became scared and alone. I was also getting skinnier because I didn't felt hungry as often. I also started to vomit food that I ate the previous hours because of the stress that was building inside.
     
With school ending, my mom told my family that she was coming back home because she couldn't stand being away from my dad, brother, and myself for a long time. So during my summer vacation in July, my family was able to take my mother home. I was so happy that I started going back to how I normally was before the accident ever happened. But it took a lot of time for her to be used to being on a wheelchair in the house and doing her normal things that she used to do. So the doctors suggested that they would send a therapist to help my mom start walking inside the house. It took some time and now everything is normal in my household. I wanted to write this memory because I discovered a new side of me that I didn't experience because I had a good family. Now I found out that I can become this broken person that is scared because my worst nightmare had become into a reality. My family doesn't like talking about this incident because it was the worst memory of our lives. But I suddenly feel confident about talking about my mother's accident because I now know that I don't have to be a confident person all the time. Even though I found a broken side of me, I realized I could become a person who is scared yet filled with confidence.