Chapter 1: The Big “D” in the East Rumors have been spread about my city, Detroit. Some true in there own ways and others plain false. I’m going to tell you about Detroit from my point of view, straight from my lips. For one; my neighborhood is dangerous in ways I haven’t even imagined. It’s cold most of the time. It also gets really icy to the point where you’re ice skating on pure sanded glass. Don’t get me wrong Detroit can be quite peaceful (when it wants to be.) My neighborhood can have its up’s and down’s, but don’t they all? To some there may be no surprise, where I live is dangerous. I can’t go one full calendar year without having at the very least two police chases going down my street. All that you hear are the tires sliding around the corner. The engine pounding closer and closer as the car passes you; you feel the air wanting to drag you down the street with them. Even the loud arguments that the men have right in the middle of the street, to point that the holy heavens hear them. You’d think they’d take the conversation to a different area to have privacy. But the evidence speaks a different case. Don’t even get me started on how cold it gets here, it’s as though winter is Detroit’s favorite season. The only time you can escape it is in the summer, when the heat waves are visible and your skin turns from regular color to dark and crispy. But still remains, like a silent undertone of some sort. It’s as though a ghost was always in the dark spaces around you. To me it seems that the summer has gotten shorter and shorter every year and the winter seems to expand while time moves forward. That’s great if you enjoy the sensation of Chapter 2: My first crush I saw him as soon as I walked in the classroom His eyes were dark brown and full of aspiration He looked at me and I couldn’t breathe I froze and soon had no words when he walked pass The class begin and he introduced himself After he was done we clapped and moved on But I somehow could not I was finally going to make my move But then he never came back to school My heart was broken, I thought I’d never feel like that again But when I rot older I simply understood He was my enlightenment I was his candle and he was my flame But our light burned out as quite as it was lit Chapter 3: Advice to the Young 19353 Kingdom Heaven, Up 24130-6857 March 18, 2008 Ms. Jessica Millender Child Living Life 19300 Lamont Detroit, MI 48234 Dear Ms. Millender I am writing on behalf of Jessica I know you do not know me but I am very familiar with you. I know what you’re going through. I was a lot like you when I was younger. I felt confused, inadequate, even heartbroken. At times it can seem as though you haven’t got a friend in the world. But when it gets like that I want you to try listening to music, maybe writing what you’re feeling at that moment would help. Life is like a never ending roller coaster some days will be good and others will be bad, but every one of those days will throw you through a twist. The best advice I was ever given and will now give you is “Life’s what you make!” There are no limitations only hurdles that you can choose to leap over or tumble and fall. This advise has gotten me through hard times and now I hope you will do the same. I’ve always taken life as though it were a test, making sure that everything was perfect, but then I found out that none of that made me happy. At the very least it made life harder. And at the end of the day you have to ask yourself is it worth it, then weigh the pros and cons and lastly make your decision, you have to live with it. Finally, life is too short to spend it regretting moments that you’ve missed or made a mistake in. This will sound like a cliché but live as though it wouldn’t exist tomorrow. Meaning breathe, smell, and taste like you’ve never done it before, because it could be gone within seconds. Thank you for taking this time to read this letter. I deeply hope that you will take what I said into consideration. Sincerely, Jessica E. Millender Chapter 4:Mistakes learned after the fact Life is difficult, if I said otherwise I’d be telling a tale. I do however know that human beings are not perfect and sometimes that very reason makes life even more difficult than normal. These imperfections are most familiar to the name mistakes. Also along with mistakes come lessons. Lessons make us wise, at times learning the lessons make us look foolish but at the end of the day it makes us better people. That’s the ultimate reason to make mistakes, to learn and grow as a person. Here are some of my own personal mishaps that I’ve grown from. One Lesson that I have learned when it was too late was always look both ways before crossing a street. I know it may sound extremely childish indeed. On the other hand a seven year old girl crosses the street without looking because she was so excited to see her father then suddenly a car only 6 inches from the child’s face passes. Nothing but pure shock, the driver didn’t see the kid so continued to drive as if nothing had happened. That one minor detail could have ended that seven year olds life in an instance. Believe it from that day forward that child looked both ways and sometimes double checked. Another lesson that comes to mind is the art of endangering one’s self to be admired by their peers. /Jessica being the voluptuous young lady that she is was being tormented mercilessly by the very popular and petite kids at her school. Day to day she longed to be accepted by others, since she herself could not. The only way she saw fit was to loss the weight and fast. And that way was eating few meals and vomiting if food was ever consumed. As the weeks pasted Jessica grew weak; pale in skin color and lack of focus sometimes fainted. Soon people began to notice and supplied her with the much needed help. Unfortunately it was too late at least for Jessica’s self esteem or lack there of, she had certain problems that that could not be filled with the love of others. Instead the love and satisfaction for her self being. Last but definitely not least, the unexpected yet very unappreciated fight with her down fall with procrastination. Laziness is the down fall for every person. It is much easier to stay in bed all day instead of attend school for eight hours. It’s a great deal to seat and do homework knowing that your favorite show/song is on. This deadly combination (laziness and procrastination) was almost the great failure in Jessica Millender’s life. Slipping in school takes great determination and obviously I had it. Too busy entertaining others instead of taking care of my everyday responsibilities. I did pass remarkably by the skin of my teeth. Not very compelling, for my lesson is still not over for still see material from that grade I fooled around in. Now I must struggle to figure it out before I fall behind in my future classes. I will leave you with this thought of endearment. We make the moments in our lives and sometimes the moments in our lives make us. I have often stubbed upon this thought many times. Yet I still have not recovered. All I know is that the lessons and mistakes I’ve learned from have made me who I am today. Therefore if am not ashamed in any way and if I had the change anything about my past I wouldn’t. Chapter 5: Wrong way on a One Way Street
The mid-day sun shined so bright, it seemed to freeze in the very essence of the moment. My brother Dylan and I played basketball whole heartedly. Every dribble represented a beat, a flow of amusement and passion. We loved the game with all our soul. But something in the air told me that the game would soon never be the same again. Dylan wasn’t my real brother but you’d be fooled at dinner time. Our family invited him over for dinner once and abruptly his place was permanently engraved. We laughed, we cried, we adopted him as one of our own. A big brother. Great, you would think but not to me. Although he was a pain, he was right every once in a while and was there when I needed him the most. After the tantalizing game Dylan and I decided to take a walk. While striking a conversation he asked, “You still writing in those little diaries of yours, like a graphic maniac?” With my head hanging low from exhaustion I was able to mutter, “They are not diaries they are reflective journals, but lately I haven’t been writing anything at all. It seems I have nothing to say anymore. It seems I don‘t know what I stand for. Who cares about what I have to say? ”said with no confidence what so ever He stepped in front of me cutting me off and I almost tripped over his big feet. Shocked I asked “What’s your problem?” “What’s my problem? What’s your problem? Don’t ever under mind yourself or what you have say, because if you do what will make those people want to listen to you?” Dylan’s index finger pointed at the house’s a lined by the street corner’s. We continued to walk back to my house. I started to unlock the door and instead of coming in and raiding our refrigerator he headed toward his car. “Hey where are going, I thought you were going to take me to Barnes & Noble?” I yelled He turned and smiled and said in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice “I’ll be back!” He got into his black 2000 Ford Explorer and drove down the street. Hours passed and I gave up hope on going to the book store. Maybe he forgot or he got caught up in something. Whatever the reason he wasn’t coming so I went to bed. Awaking the next day to screaming, I ran down the stairs with my consciousness still in bed, to see my mother on the sofa watching the Fox 2 News. She turned and saw me then opened her arms as though she wanted me to hug her, so I did. After nearly choking me to death she let me go and told me the terrible news. “Honey, Dylan was in a car crash last night… he didn’t make it.” As soon as mom had finished her sentence my whole body just stopped. I thought nothing but those words “didn’t make it.” All I could see was Dylan’s face the last time I saw him. The only words that came out of my mouth were “I’ll be back.” Mother obviously didn’t comprehend because I stayed still. She wouldn’t know what I was talking about only I knew, Dylan would have too if he was here. But he wasn’t not any longer. A month passed and the remorse felt just as alive as ever. I was sitting in the park that we had played basketball in so many times before. Just sitting on the bench looking, observing, reminiscing. The funeral was two weeks ago, I didn’t attend. I chose to remember him not how he is but how he was in the past. All the people there hadn’t seen Dylan in years and now they wish to pay there last respects. I would have been surprised if they even remembered what he looked like. The person who killed him was a drunk police officer. Not only was he drunk he was speeding and going the wrong way down a one way street. He lived and was stripped of his title and sent to prison. The time the police officer got didn’t justify the death of my brother so much for the justice system. But I sit here in this park and wonder how he is , where is he, and if he can hear my prayers. Wherever he is I feel him in the wind at the park and in every dribble I take, and in every word I write. So that’s the story of how Jessica E. Millender became who she is because of the brother that she lost however she gained a voice that knows now what it stands for justice no matter how small.
Chapter 6: Me Recipe
A hint of lemon juice because I can be sour sometimes
5 quarts of books, I love to read
8 pints of fashion, I love the retro look
10 gallons of alternative music
10 gallons of free speech
7 cups of creativity
1 gallon of TV lover
10 quarts of funny
5 quarts trustworthy
2 pints movie lover
1 cup lazy
1 cup sleepy
1. Place in a medium/large bowl 8 pints of rascality be careful while mixing. Now add 8 pints of fashion best mixed by hand.
2. When smooth add 10 gallons of free speech and 7 cups of creativity. May be a little bumpy; but that just means it’s right. Now put a hint of lemon juice to give it that zest of flavor
3. Next, apply 5 quarts of books it will make dish hard and kind of firm. Now add a half a cup of laziness and a half a cup of sleepy. Careful not to go over board or the dish will not rise.
4. After mixing for 2-4 minutes unload 4 cups of humor not to much now or the dish will begin to laugh.
5 Pour mixture into a pan and set the oven to 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then take it out leave to cool down. Now slowly spread what’s left of the ingredients.
Chapter 7: First Dinner Dance
Tonight was the night
The gym was filled with lights
My friends and I, in the middle of the dance floor
We were craving for more
The music was just right
And my date was looking tight
The Cha- Cha Slide was banging out loud
And everyone was moving all around
My dress was extra long
And for that reason I was extremely wrong
Especially for this particular song
For this next part I had to be strong
I stepped on the back of my dress
What happened next I’m sure you can guess
I fell like a fool
While trying to be cool
Falling was a shocker
Then the gym was filled with laughter
My date grabbed me and asked “Are you alright?”
And I answered “Yes, because you’re here tonight.”
Chapter 8: All Year Round
The topic I’m discussing today is about going to school all year round. Instead of having a big space in between, were students lose valuable information. I am for school all year long because teachers and students spend too much time re-teaching subjects that have been instilled into the students head. Yet they can’t retrieve it because of the large gap for summer.
I have come back to school after the summer and not remembered simple spelling or mathematical terms or signs. I’ve even lost information that was stated to me months before. I am not alone it is a fact that 62% of children have lack of focus and a harder time learning when coming back to school after the summer has ended. There are test scores to prove this is true.
Teachers are spending on average two mouths re-teaching what has been taught already. It’s not unusual that summer isn’t included throughout those three months in Japan. There are even some schools located here that have found it benefit ail to cut down summer time. Now they don’t cut out summer entirely you will have the same 180 days of school just spread out more. So instead of three months sitting right in the middle like that, there will be two- three week breaks during school.
Those opposing to cutting school short summer state that if there is school in the summer students will be less likely you focus wanting to do other things such as hang out eighth friends and family. But by doing this now students will get the feel of how it will be as an adult. Grown ups don’t get a summer vacation unless it’s taken out of given days by the company. Some may even state that it’s limiting the right to pursue happiness as a child. Yet when the pursuit of happiness conflicts with the learning process something must be done.
The reason it is getting harder for Americans to get jobs is because we are under qualified and under educated. Even studies show that students in summer school are more equipped to start the new year. This can benefit our generations and future generations to come.
Chapter 9: Carpe Diem
Dear Journal
As I get older, it becomes more and more aware to me that life is short. Every moment is more crucial than the last. Things that used to be so important somehow seem to lessen in value. Yet the things that were small now, mean the most. That’s what happens in life things happen people change. And with that Carpe Diem (Seize the Day) crossed my mind. There are so many things I have yet to do in my life, but if I were to just choose one above all others it would be to write a book. Having my words of inspiration ands wisdom live on long after I’m gone. If I had to choose one to do before /I’m thirty it would be to go sky diving. I’ve always imagined what it would be like facing my fears of heights and feeling that wind hit my face as the ground becomes more visible. Still to this day I have failed to appreciate and love myself as while as others. And that has gotten me into an enormous amount of trouble, but now that I put a face on my fear I can fix the problem. Really that’s all I can ask for.
Chapter 10: Moving On and Up
Starting off as a freshman
I thought I was doomed
In a new place
That I’ve never seen before.
But now pasting on to the next grade
I feel pretty slow for expecting the worst
The new faces in these places
Became friends in an instant
I hope I can meet them again next year
I am a better person because of this school
And next year I hope I’ll still be saying the same.
I have made progress in many aspects;
My grades, personality, and the way I think period
I’m am better because of these people
And for that I have great thanks.
Now that I move on and up
Doesn’t mean I’ll forget the people,
Who helped me along the way
Chapter 11: Forever Released
Contained in one room for all eternity
Never to taste a joyous life
No, nothing but a caged life, a sheltered life
Always to view the experience
But never to capture it in all it’s essence
All it’s being
To always see the wind blow against the trees
But cannot feel it lay it’s soft cool hands upon my face
To forever feel numb
But never feel the sensation of love
My cold shell of a body
Full of repeated emotions
Not mine, oh no, but learned gestures
To mimic the humaneness of life
Only one moment have I ever felt alive
It was in the pit of my heart
I had never felt anything like this before
It was a dark suffocating feeling
But I didn’t care just experiencing it was fulfillment enough
But then again the numbness returned
Except this time it wasn’t contained
It broke through my shell of a body
I was comfortable for the first time
My death released numbness and along with it my unhappiness
I could capture the essence of that feeling
I tasted freedom, no I had freedom
