Biggest Problem of My Life

Article Contributed by Jessie Chen, grade 8

One of the biggest problems going on in my life is that my bedroom is overcrowded. Every time I step into my room I think to myself, I really need to do something about it, but I never do. All my drawers are stuffed with colored pencils, pens, and stickers that I don't really use. I own two shelves, the tall one for books and the shorter one for my stuffed animals. The bookshelf is made of wood and has 5 layers. I tried to organize the books by author's last name like they do in the library, but gave up a day after I started. The extra books usually get stacked on the ground which sometimes trips me. The shorter shelf is a white one from IKEA. It has been moved around several times in my room since we moved in and now sits quietly under the window as the sunlight spills over it.  No matter how hard I try to shove my dolls and stuffed animals inside, they fall out. By now I have stopped trying and let the extra ones sit on the floor or on my bed, filling up portions of my overcrowded room. 

To solve this problem, I could try throwing the extra things away. This would clear my room and empty some of my drawers. However, this would be wasting perfectly fine toys, pens, and books. Instead, I could donate them. This would clear my room and at the same time, benefit the poor and put those things to good use. Regardless of the good this solution does, some of the extra things in my room mean too much to be donated. Most of them have been with me since I was a toddler. A few are even from my grandpa who passed away. To fix that, I will get a new shelf for my extra books and stuffed animals, and donate the colored pencils and pens that I don't use.

Problems

Article contributed by Laura Bai, grade 4

One of my problems is not knowing who to play with at school. For example, my friends always want me to play with them, but, because they are in different groups, I can’t be in all three groups at the same time. So now my friends are mad at me, because I don’t play with them. One group plays grounders, another plays Wings of Fire, and another plays infection (a type of tag.)

One possible solution could be taking turns playing with them at recess. However, Kendria and Zihan think that because I played grounders at the beginning of the year, I should play with them more than the other groups. (Kendria and Zihan play Wings of Fire.) So that wouldn’t work since my other friends wouldn’t be happy.

Another possible solution could be choosing which game I like most and sticking to it. However, I would get bored, and on the other hand, my other friends wouldn't be happy, so that wouldn’t work.

Another possible solution could be that I choose which one I like and play it most of the time and play with the others only when I want to. I will use this solution on school days from now on.

What I Think is Most Disgusting

Article contributed by Edward Wang

The thing that I find the most disgusting is soggy wet hair that is on the floor. I hate it because of the experiences that I have had. So, back when I was 8, I used to go to a swimming pool to swim. But the problem was that when I had to change, the stalls all had clumps of wet, soggy, and gross hair.The stalls were very small so there was barely any space to move in so I sometimes had to stand in a corner and try to change. Whenever I see clumps of hair, I picture them in my mouth for some reason and I get a really bad feeling that it's true, but when I check it isn't!!! And whenever I have to shower I have to dodge the hair. In order to do that,  I have to make a big hassle and sometimes I even trip on the hair. Also, I have big trouble at home too! When I shower at home, there is always hair in the drains and I have to lift them out of the drains. When I have to cut my hair I always have to be super careful not to step on any. Sometimes on the streets in China when it's raining for some reason there is a lot of hair in the puddles and floor. Now you know why I hate hair on the ground.

Process of Falling Asleep

Article contributed by Sophie Liu

A few months ago there was a night when I couldn't fall asleep. Even though this never happened again, I think this is a great example of my journey to successfully falling asleep. This happened a few months ago, when I had less homework to do. So, one day, I (finally) managed to be on bed earlier, at around 10:00 p.m. And I decided to fall asleep before 10:30, in thirty minutes. That, is earlier than my usual sleeping time.

At ten o’ clock, I am in bed with lights off. I squeezed my eyes shut hoping this will help my fall asleep. But my mind started wondering around, I flew out of my house, into the deep night sky… squeak! My bedroom door opened, it was a really loud sound to me at that time. My eyes flashed open, and I stared at the open door into the darkness behind them. “Mom?” I whispered. No answer. “Mom?” I said, this time louder. Still no answer. Okay then. That made me wake up completely. Did I just fall asleep, or almost fall asleep? Well, now I am absolutely awake. I check my kitty clock, it shines 10:15. Oh no! I have 15 minutes left. Again, I squeezed my eyes shut hoping my mind will go blank again this time. But it didn’t. I forced it to float out of the house and into the night sky, but it kept flashing back on stuff like potatoes, or math tests. I tried to force them out of my mind, but they kept coming back like endless flies. Then I thought of a bug killer… If, only if I have a bug killer for mind… I felt my eyes open involuntary and focused on my clock. 10:25 Great! Five more minutes. I lay there, staring at the ceiling. I. Want. To. Sleep!!!!! Closed my eyes, swear that I am not going to open them unless it’s tomorrow.  

I started counting sheep, my least favorite idea. That for some reason actually worked! The next thing I knew was sunlight shining on my face. Well I’d count that as a success. But did I fall asleep? If so, when? I hope I can fall asleep easier.

Haiku

Restaurant Review by Laura Bai

Have you ever been to Haiku? Well, it's the best restaurant ever! It's the best restaurant because, well, in other restaurants you have to wait to get your food, but in Haiku the instant you get in and get a table, you can go and serve yourself. It's one of the reasons that Haiku is the best restaurant. If I compare Haiku and Dung Tai Fung (also an Asian restaurant), I would say that it is a hard choice, like Dung Tai Fung has some better food, but Haiku has better deserts then Dung Tai Fung. I say Haiku is better.

Now another reason that Haiku is the best restaurant is its deserts are the BEST. for example, the best deserts are the marshmallows that you can dip in the chocolate fountain, another best and delish desert is the ICE CREAM! You probably think boring, but there are multiple choices of ice cream, like Green Tea, honey (probably gone) and best of all, Rainbow! But the best desert is the cotton candy, because the flavors are blue rasberry, strawberry, all mixed up plus grape flavor, that is why Haiku is the best restaurant.

McDonald

Restaurant Review by Max

McDonald tastes okay. I think it tastes okay becuse the food there has to much oil in it but it costs a little. It also tastes like sour and sweet. When you are there you see alot of kids and some grown-ups. It is a little noisy too. The food is also soft. The foods smells good too.

I think the food there tastes good. You also don't have to wait in line long. The drinks taste good too. This morning I had Fanta orange it tasted good.

That's why I think it tastes good.

Subway

Restaurant Review by Jessie Chen

Name:Subway

Rating:⭐

  Subway, taste exactly like it sounds. Dirty, cold, inedible, stale, I could go on for days with this list of why Subway is disgusting but that would just be a total waste of time. Put aside the food, the environment of those tiny little space their restaurants just makes you want to leave the second you enter. The first time i had subway, I just got off a plane from Toronto. The sun was just starting to set and we haven't had anything to eat after our tiny portioned breakfast at 7 am.Cold air was blowing outside and we were starving so me and my mom entered the nearest  restraint there is, Subway, which was a terrible choice.

  

The tables were covered in garbage, which's reason I saw two seconds after, the garbage bin was full. It clearly have not been emptied in at least 2 days. I can see the moss growing on them. The waitress's manner was terrible. She looked like she would pay anything to be elsewhere, was being really mean, and didn't bother to say anything like please, have a good day, enjoy your meal, or anything at all. In fact, I don't think she said a single word other than signing once in a while. Another time, when i took a bite into the ice cold sandwich, I tasted something sweet, salty, bitter, spicy, and sour at the same time. Then, when i took my second bite, I I felt something wired in my mouth that i can not swallow. When i took it out, guess what? it was a piece of hair! I can not believe these guys! About two month ago, my skating class ran late and i was going to be late for this class, My mom bought me a Subway to stuff in my mouth in the car.  My tooth almost fell off when i bite it, The bread was hard as stone and it tasted so stale! In the end, I strongly advice you to be wise and never give your money to the Subway guys. 

Frying Fish

Restaurant Review by Ray Zhao

Name of Restaurant: Frying Fish

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Location: 1915 140th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005

    Have you ever been to Frying Fish? It is a great restaurant that I would say is a four star. The only reason that it isn't a five star in my opinion is because it has a fish that is way to spicy in my opinion. I think that it would become  five star if it made that fish a little less spicy.

    Also, it has some exotic deserts, like fried ice cream. It is basically ice cream in a spring roll. I gobbled it up. It also has steamed buns dipped in sour milk that is smooth and creamy. Finally, it has great pig blood. The pig blood has just the right amount of spiciness in it.

    In conclusion, this is why I think Frying Fish is a good restaurant. It is always a treat when I get to go there. So next time your parents don't know what to eat, say, "Lets go to the epic restaurant Frying Fish!"

Panda Express

 Restaurant Review by Sonya He

      4.5 stars

      The Panda Express located at 119 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004 had great prices on foods, they were affordable yet delicious. The foods tasted just like Traditional  Asian food, they did not taste too greasy like most food at other Asian restaurants, instead, they had a mild taste which was not too light or too greasy.

      They also had an fine environment, it was not the cleanest and neatest, but it was not too dirty. It was not quiet, but not too noisy either. 

McDonald's

Restaurant Review by Boya Zhang

Don’t you always go to Mc Donald’s? Do you think it’s good? Well, here’s my advice: Mc.Donald’s is horrible! “No, everyone likes it,” you must be thinking. Well that’s just because they see cheap little ads and toys for Mc.Donald’s. Think about it. Do 5 star restraunts have ads? Of course not! Do famous restraunts like Roy’s have giant poles with their logo on it? Do they even HAVE a logo? Not many! That’s because their food is good, while Mc.donald is only famous because of cheeky ads and toys. In reality, Mc.Donald’s food is sooooo nooby compared to other restraunts. The meat looks weird, the vegetables are slight brown, and the fish fillet tastes strangely like chicken. I also heard that the French fries are boiled, frozen, cooked, frozen, then boiled again! The chicken nugget, when held under the microscope, has unidentifiable black and white things in it. It is even meat? When every time I go there, I end up with a severe stomachache. The food even FEELS weird! Mc.Donald’s is so bad it is BANNED in Europe! Even my school’s food is better than Mc.Donald’s! “Trash.” Edward says. It’s always very dirty and noisy, too. Why do they place the play structures next to the dining tables? It’s sooo annoying listening to little kids run around and shout when you’re trying to eat. Also, some kids don’t even wash their hands after eating and go straight to the play area. As a result, rather play area ends up covered in grease. Do you still like Mc.Donalds? Well, if you have any common sense, do not go to Mc.Donalds.

McDonald's rating:  0 out of 5 stars.

Chipotle

By Leo Zhu

Mexican food. Yummy! There's Taco Time, Taco Bell, Qdoba, and more, but the best Mexican food restaurant is . . . Chipotle!  "There are many restaurants to choose from but which should I choose?" I say to myself. "Maybe Taco Ti--wait. Mom has eaten at Taco Time." Before I was born, she ate at Taco Time and it was bad. My mom said the taco was so hard she couldn't even chew it! Also the meat was mushy. Worst of all, the rice tasted artificial.That was the last time anyone in our family went to Taco Time.

Speaking of rice, Chipotle's has flavor, unlike Taco Time's tasteless rice. Chipotle's rice is perfectly seasoned with fresh cilantro and is not oily. It also has a nice strong, earthy, ricey, flavory kick to it. Other restaurants have rice that makes you feel like you don't want to eat anything again and the thougth of food makes you dizzy, however, Chipotle's rice makes you want to eat more! Chipotle's rice is like a Mona Lisa. The mystery is not Mona Lisa's smile, but why the rice makes me smile.

At Chipotle they serve tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, and quesadillas. The restaurant is like Subway, but a Mexican restaurant. You can build your own burritos, bowls, and tacos. The burritos are like little packages of delight! Lastly, the atmosphere is very friendly. It stands out from a normal Taco Time or Taco Bell. And the staff are always quick and get orders correctly. Furthermore, they always smile, which gets you smiling before you eat. This is why Chipotle is the best restaurant.

Rain (by Megan)

Sprinkling,
Trickling,
Patting faintly--
Gently,
I come.
Light and frothy,
Pretty, musical
I play ever so softly
With wind chimes and rooftops.
I gather coolly over time:
In you hair,
On your arms,
Delicately--upon the tips of your lashes.

I thicken,
Grow steady,
Follow the beat of your heart.
I am mellow, but I am heavy,
I stir up earthly scents
And thoughts.
I seep through your shirt,
Darkening it's color,
As I darken the sky.

I rhythmically prance
On a forgotten tarp
Within reach of
your cold ears
limited reception.

I now pound.
I pour.
I thrum deep into your bones.
I fall in icy sheets.
Tumbling off wetted roads.
I let out low, rolling laughter
You know
by another name.
Flooding holes,
Lawns,
What was not long ago--
Empty air.
I soak you to the core . . .

And leave as quickly
As I began.

Snow (by Megan)

A flurry of falling stars--
dancing, floating
downward onto shoulders,
lashes,
my outstretched hands.
Each a wish come true,
a long-awaited letter,
the return of a friend.

They gather
and dress the world.
They cap each fence post,
wrap each branch in priestly robes,
and cloak the kneeling mountains.

The season of hope
has arrived.

Drawing Courage (by Megan)

Sword in hand,

the knight charges forward --

awaiting the dragon

to appear on the darkened scene.

Flaming, roaring,

the dragon tears through the trees

coming into view.

The brave man quickly looks down 

at his breastplate.

There is a heart etched into the metal . . .

After a long battle,

the mighty beast lays dead.

It was treacherous,

It was painful,

but now the deed is done.

exhausted --

I slump to the floor --

paint brush dripping red.

White Rabbit (by Megan)

I stare.
I stare at the cold, hard ground--
And wish myself below.
I look up--
Black.
All I see is black.
All I feel is black.
All that touches me
Is black.
So, so black.
"Stop!"
I scream into the darkness.

A white rabbit bolts past
a heavy, in-scripted stone.
I stop.
I ponder.
And I begin . . .
I begin to see.

The frightened animal comes near,
beckoning me to look up.
And when I do
The sky lightens.
I can see the sun.

When I stoop down,
the rabbit is gone.
In it's place
is something pure,
something white,
something wanting to be held.

The wind speaks (by Megan)

The wind speaks
It calls to me --
shows me places
the eye does not see.

Visions grip me --
take me into forgotten corners
of the earth.

Steel grey skies
stretch endlessly
across the barren expanse
of a heartsore land.

It's own howling
intertwined with a long, plaintive call
from a silhouette
in the darkness
come near me.

Dying weeds
cling desperately
to old, exposed roots
in the cracked soil.

There are countless images, sounds, and textures
it brings to me.
Yet my hands lay at my sides.
My eyes remain closed.
My ears only hear the hum of the radiator
near my side.

The wind speak.
It calls to me --
in perfect harmony
to my beating heart.

Super Sized

by Megan

Selda May Tulip loved shoes. She loved them with an undying passion. Then one day she decided one lovely pair of shoes on her feet was simply not enough. But try as she might, two pairs at once would just not do.

Zelda's feet were rather small. She wore a size six and a half and they were just right. However, when Zelda wandered into the shoe store, something caught her eye. On the top shelf of the sale rack laid two masterpieces. There they stood--a pair of boring, brown flats . . . in a whopping size 13! She rushed over to the sales clerk and they were sold in a blink of an eye.

On her way home she decided she could not wait any longer to put them on. she tood a step in her grand aapparel only to find her feet would not stay inside the openings. "Oh no!" she cried. She tore through the town, flung open the front door, and snatched up a bottle of glue. "Perfect."

Zelda had decided that bigger was always better. Once her feet were secured, she pranced through the house (though her prancing was more like stumbling) and showed her parents. "What on earth are you wearing?" they shouted. "My new shoes." she said simply.

That night Zelda found it difficult to sleep. Because her feet were now pasted inside her shoes, she could no longer lay on her stomach. By the next day Zelda had bags under her eyes and several blisters on her toes and heels--but it was worth it.

Getting dressed also proved to be a challenge. Her jeans would not pull on over her enormous feet. She yanked and she tugged but it was to no avail. In the end, Zelda found a skirt and slid it on with relative ease. "Much better."

As she journeyed down the hall she discovered yet another problem. "Stairs." She whispered. she would not give up now, she was hungry! So Zelda turned sideways and carefully planted her foot across the step. She ascended the treacherous path ever so slowly, but she succeeded.

Throughout her day Zelda faced many more dilemmas, such as walking to school, playing soccer in the gym, and convincing a police officer that she was not drunk when she failed to walk a straight line.

Three weeks later, there was hardly a sentence spoken at school that didn't involve the excitement of the upcoming dance. Questions whirred about: "Who should I ask?" "What dress will match my eyes?" "Is it too late for teeth whitening?" But no bigger question was asked then the footwear challenge. "How large are your shoes going to be?"

There was a new fashion flying about the shoe industry. Very few stores did not engage in the new "Bigger is Better" footwear extravaganza. What a revelation!

On the day of the dance Zelda was ecstatic. she had started a trend that would rule the dance floor! However, when the moment of truth had arrived, she found she could not quite reach her partner. By the time she was home everyone agreed it was certainly a night to remember.

Many months later, big shoes were simply part of society. Then Zelda's father suggested "Hey what if we started enlarging food?" Poor Zelda screamed in surprise. "Oh my father! Why, that would be absurd!"

Strong Bad Essay

Strongbad

Strong bad is a guy that answers emails that are cool.  The Strong bad essay has pros and cons. I will tell you what I think is ok and what’s not. And remember these are my opinions. I will test his essay against the six traits of good writing that teachers developed.         

The first trait is the ideas of his essay. His essay is out of control because of his lack of focus. Most of his essay has random junk. Some of it does not make sense. Like he said and I quote, “it is my intention to play video games.” 

            The second trait is word choice. The words he chose are very well put. His words are outstanding. And it was promising to see such nice wording. As using complicated words like, "intention." 

The third is organization. His is perfect. Strong bad has a great beginning paragraph, and middle and an ending paragraph. So that is a pretty good essay for a guy that loves gaming. Most of his essay sucks. Mine does to.

            The forth is voice so that the characters have more than life in the pages of a book. The voice is great. I not so shire that it has good quality. I might have put it differently. His voice told his thoughts. 

            The fifth, sentence fluency. It was weak with his senseless act of goofing off. As I explain please sit down as you might faint from laughter or badness. He said “It is my entrance to play video games for 12 hours strait.” There are some people that are on the ground. I told you to sit down!!! No won listen!         

            The sixth trait of good writing is conventions, which include periods and capitals. Strong Bad did an awesome job with these. And fabulas. It was the best thing in the essay. I am happy with its capitals. He had his capitals in the right please  

            The thing I like is that these were my ideas. And the people who change this and make it better I will be happy.

Jackson's Essay

The Lighting Thief

This book The Lightning Thief is about Greek mythology in modern day America and a young boy fighting his way through monsters and finding out about himself on the way. This book, like many others, follows the Hero's Journey Pattern.

Percy Jackson is the main character of this story. He lives with his mother and evil step-father in the beginning of the book. At first no one ever mentions his birth father which led me to believe that this coincidence might follow the first step of the Hero's Journey Pattern which tells you that the hero was born unnaturally to a virgin mother and some sort of king or "God" father.

The next step to the pattern tells you that the hero is possibly in danger as a young child and is kept safe or protected from evil. Little did Percy know that his best friend Grover was actually a satyr, a mythical goat-human, sent to watch over Percy.

The third step of the Hero's Journey Patter mentions that the hero gets called to adventure. After a series of unusual events, his best friend Grover begins to give him the real story of what is going on in his life and why this is happening to him. Grover then decides to take Percy to Camp Half-blood.

Here is where Percy really finds out who he is and what he is meant to do. Percy now starts realizing his fate and begins to train. He is trained by his former Latin teacher who is actually an immortal centaur and trainer of heroes. Which happens to be the next step of the Hero's Journey Pattern.

The next step to the pattern says that the hero travels to the Underworld and almost dies. Percy does just that, he travels to the Underworld and faces Hades to negotiate his mother's life.

On the way to the Underworld Percy faces Cerberus, the monstrous three headed dog. This part of the story follows the pattern almost exactly, it says he will face a monster, villain, or giant.

The seventh step to the Hero's Journey Pattern tells you that the hero will marry a princess or somehow become king. This step is one that the book doesn't follow exactly . Percy does end up having a little bit of a thing with Annabeth near the end. That is the closest thing I could think of that follows that part of the pattern.

The end result of the Hero's Journey Pattern says that order is restored and something or someone is safe. This is also the end result of this book, Percy restores order between the gods when no one believed he could.

If you are a fan of Greek mythology or would just like to see the Hero's Journey Pattern in story form I would highly recommend this book. In my opinion this is the best hero book I have read since Hercules, you might even find some things are similar between the two.

The Lightning Thief --Essay by Riley

A Hero’s Journey Pattern is something people use to follow long in a certain story. It helps the reader follow and go along with what’s going on, such as events that are happening, people to see, place’s to go, exciting things that are happening. I think the Lightening Thief does follow the Hero’s Journey Pattern cause each of the eight steps have something to do with what’s going on in the story. For each event that is happened try and compare that event to the Journey step. I think this story kind of goes along with Harry Potter. It follows some of the same events and the story seems some what the same. The themes seem somewhat similar also. I think fictional books are the ones that are easier to compare with the Journey Potter cause that is made up of stuff more along the lines of the pattern. That’s why Harry Potter and the Lightening Thief are good for the Journey Pattern cause, there are fictional books. The Journey Pattern can’t just be any story though. It can only follow along with certain types of story’s, Fictional story’s that have events that can match up or relate to what the Journey Pattern is asking about. The Journey Pattern can go along with a good portion of super hero movies or books. Two of which are Harry Potter and the Lightening Thief. But along with those two I think superman is a part of the Hero’s Journey. Some of the eight steps which are,

1. Hero’s mother is a royal virgin. Father is king.

2. Danger when young, hidden for safekeeping.

3. Gets a call to adventure.

4. Is trained by a special hero/trainer.

5. Makes a Journey to the underworld, almost dies.

6. Fights villain, giant dragon, or wild beast.

7. Marries Princess or in someway become king.

8. Something found out, someone is safe, great prize.

These here are the eight steps of the Hero’s Journey Pattern. They can follow with the story of superman also, I think some of the Marvel Superhero’s could fit in with the Hero’s Journey Pattern also. Even though their fictional story’s but somewhat realistic they can follow. A few movies like Hercules and Star wars are also good to fit the pattern as well. Hercules is probably the best out of them all because it can follow all eight steps. Journey steps have something to do or match up with something in the story of Hercules. Star wars is good to but I don’t know if it can match up with all eight steps. If you were to match up Star wars with the steps of the Hero’s Journey steps I think it would be possible.