If I could have any job in the world it would either be a professional soccer player or a historian. I would love to become a historian because I have always loved learning about famous people and how they influenced others, but I could learn more about historical people and historical events that took place. Becoming a professional soccer player has always been my dream job to have. With becoming a soccer player, I can travel the world and be able to play soccer while doing it. I have gone to Tampa, Cincinnati, and Dallas for soccer. Even though I haven’t always won, I still had fun playing and hanging out with my team. And lastly I just love when I can spend time out on the soccer field, it makes me feel joy when I can play. I hope some day I can be able to become a professional soccer player or a historian.

Imagine being stuck on an abandoned island, well that’s my life! I have been stuck here for, I don’t even know how long. All I remember was I was on a boat with my family, and we were having a great time. When a huge storm hit our boat, it managed to flip over the boat. I was able to come up for air, but there was no sign of my family. After that all I could remember was waking up on a deserted island. I have been here ever since. Don’t get me wrong I love it here, but I miss my family and friends. It’s a tropical paradise, the waves are beautiful and great for swimming. My dad taught me and my brother how to make a hut out of tree branches and hay. I always eat fruit from the trees, I have it every day for breakfast. On a regular day, I will wake up to the sunrise, after I cut up some fruit for breakfast. I change into my bathing suit, and run to the water to go swimming and surfing, I learned to make a makeshift surfboard. After an hour or so, I relaxed watching to waves and listening to the animals noises. I get up to go spear hunting fish, for lunch and dinner. When it starts to get dark outside, it start a fire to cook the fish while watching the sunset. After the I get done eating, I go my little hut and get ready to sleep. Like I said I love my life, but I don’t want to live here forever. I have never seen any boat sailing by the island, I just hope that someday I can have a normal life somewhere.

“I don’t think so.” I heard a voice from afar say. I was in a subterranean tunnel underground with my friends, we had just found the missing treasure dating back to the 1800s. That was buried by Sir Samson McCoy, he was the son to a wealthy man who owned tons of land in Charlestown, Saint Kitts and Nevis. After his father died, he got the money from his father inheritance. He lived in a luxury countryside house with his wife and two children. The money he inherited was stolen from many homes. Samson was charged with a death sentence, he set sail to Cuba. While he was traveling, there was a massive storm heading towards Charlestown. His ship sank in the Caribbean Sea. Nobody has been able to find it.

I was perplexed, I’ve heard that voice before but I couldn’t think where. I heard footsteps. But they weren’t coming towards me, they were heading in other direction. I slowly turned around and saw nobody there, they had left me. I started to start coughing over and over again, I looked to see the room fumigated. I couldn’t breathe, I fell to the floor. I laid there helplessly. I felt lightheaded. The voice was about to say something, but an alarm went off. I woke up. It was all a dream, nothing happened.

In January, I read the book The Three Mothers by Anna Malakai Tubbs. The Three Mothers is a biography about the mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X, and James Baldwin shaped a nation. And about what it was like raising their children in that time period, and about their childhood and the remarkable women who raised them. They also talked about the important lessons they taught their kids as they grew up, and all the tragedies, trials, and tribulations they faced throughout their lives.

I really enjoyed this book because it’s a biography about the three mother’s lives, I love books about historical figures or historical events that changed the world. It kept me interested throughout the entire time from all the information about the mother’s lives. Some of my favorite parts were not in the paragraphs. There are these quotes on the different chapter pages, they had quotes from Audre Lorde, Margaret Sanger, Jessie Redmon Fauset, and many more extraordinary people.

My favorite character from the book was Alberta Williams King, because she was an empowering and intelligent woman. No matter what happened to Alberta, she powered through it and became a role model for her family and for many people in the world. Even though she was not treated the same as other people she was black and a woman, that didn’t let her stop her. She had three children, she founded the Ebenezer choir and worked as a church organist from 1932 to 1972. Alberta was an empowering role model, a quote to prove this statement is, “Alberta and Michael Sr. knew the importance of teaching their children about these realities despite the privileges they were able to enjoy. They were still a Black family in danger of white supremacist violence. It did not matter how educated they were, nor did it matter how nice their home was, they too faced some of the ugliest forms of racism. Alberta and Micheal had to their children how to stand up to injustice both in words and in practice. They also understood how essential it was to make sure their children knew their worth in a world where they would be pushed to question it.” (pg. 99)

This isn’t my favorite quote from the book, but it is one that shows what it was like to live in that time period. “When the country is suffering from the effects of war, economic loss, health crises, or social upheaval, the most disadvantaged groups experience the most misfortune. They are the first to lose jobs, the first to be forgotten, and the first to be unable to feed their young.” (pg. 83)

There is also another quote that’s not my favorite but has a lot of meaning, It takes place the same year Alberta’s dad died. Nine black boys were falsely accused of raping two white women on a train less than 150 miles away from Atlanta in Scottsboro, Alabama. The boys were denied a fair trial when Black people were systematically excluded from jury rolls. It wasn’t until 2013 that all the boys were posthumously pardoned by the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. This boys were accused of this crime in 1931 and it wasn’t until 2013 they were granted posthumously pardoned, that took 82 years for them to figure out that they were innocent. The quote is, “The nine young men spent years in and out of prison and were never able to recover from the pain of the torture they endured. One died at age thirty-nine, another killed himself, another was shot in the head by a prison guard, another was denied treatment for a disease he had been originally taking the train out of town to treat, another turned to drinking. Few of the nine were able to live stable lives following the tyrannical ordeal.” (pg. 111) They could of stopped of all of these things from happening to these boys, but because they had a different skin color. They weren’t given the same things that other people could have. The nine boys could have grown up into great role models to their children or their community, but because of the things they went through only four out of the nine boys were able to recover, they still probably had trauma from what happened. It makes you think what could’ve happened to them, if these events didn’t happened.

In December, I read the book Two Degrees by Alan Gratz. Two degrees is a historical fiction book about Akita, Owen, George, and Natalie who are all affected by climate change. Akira was riding her horse in California, when a wildfire starts and grows at a rapid speed. Owen and his best friend George, live by the snowy Canadian tundra where they are always seeing polar bears. When on their way to George’s family’s ice fishing cabin they come face to face with a protective mama bear, they have to overcome their differences and figure out how to survive. Natalie lives in Miami where a massive hurricane comes through her city while she’s at home. Where the hurricane crashes into her house and she has to escape to survive, but she has nowhere to hide or family to protect her.

I really enjoyed this book because it kept me entertained throughout the entire book with all the challenges the characters faced. I also loved all the action in the book and how it is about historical fiction. I love how Alan Gratz wrote about the dangers of climate change, and how it can affect people, animals, and the environment.

Akira was my favorite character, because she is independent and courageous. Even though she was in a forest fire with her horses and her dad, she still cared about the horses safety and strangers she just met. Sue, a girl she just met. Akira noticed one of her arms was limp and was clearly hurt, she stopped to make a sling for Sue’s arm. Remembering everything her father taught her, and when they came to a house after escaping the fire for a little bit of time. Akira saw Dodger, her horse was trapped on top of a pool plastic cover. Instead of leaving Dodger behind, she decided to go rescue Dodger from the quickly approaching wildfire. Also when they were found by a truck driver named Vicki, Akira made sure Sue was safe. Akira was hesitant if she should go with the Vicki and Sue or ride with Dodger, but she stuck with her gut feeling to stay with Dodger to make sure he was going to be alright. Even though the Vicki and Sue were telling her to get in the truck and let Dodger find his way out of the fire like the first time she found him on the plastic cover. Akira was a courageous character and I can prove it with this quote, “It was surprisingly hard to leave Sue too. But Akira couldn’t abandon her horse. ‘I left Dodger once before,’ Akira said, ‘and I promised I’d never do it again.’ Vicki tried to talk her out of it, but Akira’s mind was made up.” (pg. 187)

My favorite quote from the book is when Akira and Sue are about to separate because Sue is in the pickup truck with Vicki and Akira is with Dodger, and even though they just met. They have started to become friends or even best friends, in a situation where there is a dangerous forest fire is come towards them. Sue gives Akira her number and says, “‘So we can see each other again, come hail or high water,’ Sue told her. Akira laughed. She’d thought before that Sue might be somebody who could become a real friend, and she was sure of it now.” (pg. 187) This is my favorite quote because it shows that no matter what is happening to you or around you, there will always be someone there for you. Who could have the potential to become a best friend.

We all hear a famous quote that inspires us and makes us smile. This Dumbledore quote makes me feel this way. “We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.” -Albus Dumbledore. This quote means to me that we all have to accept that when we have a problem, there is a right way to do it and there is an easier way to get the problem done. This relates to me because I will usually do what is the easiest thing to do rather than solving the situation the right way. I will usually let all my homework pile up, so I won’t have to do it the day it’s assigned. Instead of letting it start to pile up, I should get it over with and not let it pile up. That’s what Dumbledore means in his quote, you have the decision to solve the problem and do what’s right. Or you can do what’s easy and get it done quicker, but not always the best way to get it done.

Somebody who I really admire is Helen Keller. I greatly admire her because even with her limitations she was able to make the best of her life. She advocated for the blind and the women’s suffrage and co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union. Even though it was hard for her she also learned how to read braille, lip read, and learned how to speak. Helen graduated from Radcliffe College with a Bachelor of Arts degree, becoming the first blind/deaf person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. All of her set backs before didn’t let that stop her, she rose to become a major 20th century humanitarian and writer. One of the overall reasons she is one of my hero’s is because she overcame her disability’s and became a powerful influence and role model for people everywhere.

My word of intention for 2024 is impact. There are a couple reasons why I want impact to be my word of intention. I feel that this word will help me to be my best self. My friends and family are what’s most important to me, and I want to be able to make them happy when they’re sad. My friends and family have an impact on my life, they will always help me if I need them. I want to have the same impact they have on me. My mom has impacted my life in many different ways. My mom is always there for me if I need someone to talk to, and I know that she will always love me no matter what. Even if it’s just a small thing that can brighten up someone’s day, I want to try to do it. I just want to focus on having a bigger impact on the friends, family, and the people around me.

I have been told I am to be principal of my school for the day. I would make sure that there would be no homework and very little tests. I struggle with test sometimes and it can really bring down your grade a lot. I would have students finish their homework in class rather than do it at home. So they could have extra time for extra curricular and to study for any tests they need to retake. I would next have every other Friday be pajama day. There’s not a lot of pajamas days in the school year, sometimes you just want to wear pajamas to school and be comfortable. Next I would have every Friday and Wednesday be late start days. If we had double late start days students could sleep in an extra hour and could retake any tests or are behind on any assignments finish it at tutorial or homeroom two times a week. Lastly I would have the passing periods be a little bit longer. The students have to be at school for six to seven hours a day, after most passing periods I talk with my friends. Most of the times I don’t even get to talk with them because they’re so short. Hopefully one day I could be principal for the day.

In November, I read the book City Spies by James Ponti. City Spies is a adventure fiction book about a young girl named Sara Martinez and how she is a hacker that broke into the New York City foster care system to reveal to everyone that her foster parents were lawbreakers, for her actions would make her face many years juvenile detention. Mother, a British spy who helps her get out of jail and into M16, British Secret Intelligence. The City Spies are five kids from different parts of world. Sara finds herself hacking into a rival’s computer preventing them from winning a million euros, climbing thirty feet off a side of a building and trying to defeat a villain. While trying to navigate her new family’s dynamics.

I really enjoyed the book because I was so entertained throughout the whole story from all information about Sara and the City Spies. I loved how Sara is the newest member of the City Spies, she is one of the smartest people in the group and starting to feel more comfortable with the rest of the group. I liked at the end of the story Sara gave Mother her old snow globe of the Brooklyn lighthouse, to put it by the window so it can guide his children back to him.

Sara was my favorite character, because she was adventurous and intelligent. Sara knew she had to prove herself to the group so they would take her seriously. Sara was given a task to find the meeting point in Edinburgh, the other members of the group decided to spy on her to get their first impressions of Sara. They were watching her making her way through the city, she heads to a Jewelry store. They were watching her try on watches and when the saleswoman turned away, she put it in her backpack. They didn’t take any other information about her and just thought she’s a thief. Later when they’re at dinner they blurted out that she’s a thief, Mother and Sydney thought it wasn’t possible but Sara told them about why she was late. She gave mother the box because he lost his watch. When he opened it there was nothing. So she fooled the whole group, she explained how she fooled everyone. Sara was an intelligent character, and I can prove this quote “I’m sorry to have done this, but I had to prove to the others that I was up to the challenge. No matter what you and Sydney told them, they would’ve had their doubts about me.” (pg.111)

My favorite quote from the book is when Sara went to see mother and he was staring out the window. And Sara is figuring out how he found everyone while searching for his kids. Sara decided to give him a present. It was her old snow globe of the Brooklyn bridge, to put it by the window so it can guide his children back to him. He didn’t want to take it from her, since it helped her guide her family back to her. She tells him, “I don’t need it anymore, I found my family.” This is my favorite quote because this was very meaningful to Sara, and she always thought it would help her family find her, and her family did find her.