When I first arrived in August, I expected 7th grade to be more exciting than 6th grade since we got to choose our electives. I choose french, Teen Skills, Aerobics, and choir. This was also the first year I’ve taken a high school course; Algebra 1. But then I soon realized that there was a lot more homework, and it was up to you to turn in late work, and make up anything you need on your own time.
By October, I understood how to do well in 7th grade and was doing so. I had also started making lots of new friends. Compared to 6th grade, I had changed in a lot of ways. My friend group was completely different, and I was discovering more of who I was.
Eventually, I figured out that math wasn’t my strongest subject. All my life school had been a breeze, and to most people’s standards I was doing well in math, but it wasn’t good enough for me. For the first time ever I had to actually study hard a test or quiz.
In 7th grade, I learned…
• that you are responsible for you
• to always study and do your homework on time
• to have fun
As the year comes to a close, I’m trying to end with good grades and be in a good place with all my friends. Just because there’s not a lot of time left in school doesn’t mean you should start slacking.
If I had to do it again, I would do it the same way, except maybe try harder in math.
My advice to next year’s seventh graders is to not worry. You’ll find your way soon enough.

Being a great leader is important since things can rarely get done in a group if there is not one. It can also help you in your career and make a change in the world. There are many characteristics a good leader should have, but here are  some of the ones I think are most important.

Having passion is a necessity. If you’re disinterested in being a leader, it’s highly unlikely that you will give much of an effort at being one. Being enthusiastic not only makes you a better leader but people will also feed off of that enthusiasm and want to follow under you.

Another great quality to possess is confidence. Keeping your confidence high will keep your group calm and collected even when something did not go as planned. A leader is suppose to keep the group together and boost morale. Staying confident will keep your team moving forward.

There are way too many qualities of being a good leader for me to say, but you don’t have to have all of them to be a great leader. Anyone can be a great leader if they recognize what they need to work on and work on it.

“you shall above all things be glad and young
For if you’re young,whatever life you wear

it will become you;and if you are glad
whatever’s living will yourself become.
Girlboys may nothing more than boygirls need:
i can entirely her only love

whose any mystery makes every man’s
flesh put space on;and his mind take off time

that you should ever think,may god forbid
and (in his mercy) your true lover spare:
for that way knowledge lies,the foetal grave
called progress,and negation’s dead undoom.

I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance. ” – E.E. Cummings

This is my favorite poem, and it is by E.E. Cummings. It’s titled You shall above all things be glad and young.

 It’s my favorite poem because it gives a great message about how you should use the time when you’re young

to discover who you are. It also says that the things you experience, and the way you live shape who you are.

The last line is my favorite because he’s saying that he would rather do just one positive thing than do something very negative to a large group.

“I’m so excited for Valentine’s Day!” “I can’t wait to see what he gets me!” Many people think too highly of Valentine’s Day.

There shouldn’t just be one day where you have to show someone how much you love them or how much they mean to you. Sure, I enjoy giving and receiving candy, cards, and love on Valentine’s Day, but what about the other 364 days of the year? It’s important to do meaningful gestures of affection all year round.

Another reason is that Valentine’s Day has also become very commercial. In order to tell someone you love them, you have to buy something for them. For example, in every movie that has Valentine’s Day in it, the girl has to get showered in flowers, stuffed animals, and chocolate. Love should not be measured in how much money you spend on someone.

Valentine’s Day, even though it has become a day where you must do something very special for your loved one(s), is still a fun day to have in the end. It’s important to remember that love is more than spending money, but passion and dedication.

“Did you know she was held back a grade?” Gossiping may be fun, but it can be harmful.
Something as simple as talking to a friend about someone else could end up around the whole school. For instance, in the movie Mean Girls, they made a ‘Burn Book’, a book filled with hurtful gossip about everyone in the school. One day someone got the book and made copies of all the pages and filled the school with them. The girls who made the book were then hated by everyone. This shows how fast something can spread.
Also gossiping can turn into bad rumors. For example, I heard someone I thought was my friend spreading a false rumor about me. I felt like I had no true friends, I just wanted to fall in a hole and die. Just because you think someone can’t hear it, doesn’t mean you should say it, especially when you don’t know if it’s true.
It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. If you don’t something being said about you, don’t say it about someone else. Therefore just don’t gossip, it can turn into a big rumor, and/or hurt someone.

One of my closest friend is someone I met online. We met on Facebook in 2009, and have been friends since. Her name is Itati, she’s 16 and lives in Canada. Although she is older than me by 3 years, we practically grew up together. We can talk about anything with each other. I know I can come to her if I need to talk or get advice. We keep in contact in many ways; Facebook, texting, skype, and sometimes we send each other gifts and letters in the mail. Unfortunately, we haven’t met in person yet, but that’s something we are working towards. I can’t wait until I finally get to meet my best friend.

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