Polished+Writings

…From am I

I am from a family of five Where brothers love their sisters And where sisters love their brothers

I am from the skate park Where thugs spend their summers And skateboarders show their passion

I am from Great Bear Where children can have fun And snowboarders can shred at own will

I am from a school A school with passion A school with pride Where orange and black will be remembered

I am from the pitch Where pads are not allowed When passion is a matter of life and death Where failure is not an option When the score is not everything, it’s about having fun

I am fromSioux Falls,South Dakota

** Martin Luther King **

In a world where everyone is separated by the color of his or her skin, hair color, and height would not be same as the world I live in today. There would be more fighting in the communities, no one would get along, and it wouldn’t be right.

Today most people have friends in different ethnic groups. Back in the day of the Civil Rights Movement everyone was separated in schools, on the bus, in the public bathrooms, maybe in skate parks. Businesses may not have as many employees as they have today. If they were not allowed to hire one type of race there might not be as many employees. Now, if our world originated this way, a lot of us would think its normal not to go to school with natives or African Americans, but someone, somewhere would be trying to fix what the world messed up. No one should feel like they are being pushed away or not allowed somewhere because their not like all the others. I think that it is stupid for someone to as immature to cause a big deal about someone else’s skin just because you don’t want them in your presence. Ever since Martin Luther gave his I have a dream speech the world restrained them from separating schools, businesses, bathrooms or wherever you may approach a foreign person. If no one ever stood up for what they believe is right, the world would be the same it was 150 years ago.

Even though we weren’t around to experience his speech or the impact it had on society, we still know what it was like to have such a world where everyone was separated by the color of their skin. With a world where everyone is together we don’t have to worry about how we act or how we dress. We can date who ever we want and we can work wherever and with whomever. Schools all over the world now have diverse schools and businesses because of what Martin Luther King said and believed in. Without peace and harmony in a world, this place would be a disaster and crimes all over and no one would get along. The world we know it is the way it should always have been and the way it should always stay.

If you walk up to an elderly man and ask them about the civil rights movement and ask them how big of impact it had on society, he will tell you everything that you will need to know about it and how it changed the way people live today. Now, if you walk up to a teenager and ask them about the civil rights movement they will probably only tell you what they learned in school or what they think happened. The only people that are able to tell you the truth of what happened are the people who experienced the situation. So now you can look at society and be thankful for what you have because your grandparents didn’t have what you have today, they had the rough life, they had to learn everything the hard way.

** The Band Room **

I walk into the band room, passing the trap set, passing by the marimbas, back into the storage room where all the instruments are kept. I take my euphonium case down from the shelf to get at my euphonium. Another day in band I say to myself as more people enter the band room, another day with the trombones, with the tubas, and better yet, with the trumpets.

Jordan Bloker is one of the seven trumpets in the back row where the low and high brass sits. Now, most freshmen out there are lame and immature, but Jordan has to be one of the coolest freshmen out there. Even though he’s not in marching band he’s still pretty cool. Salvador, Jordan’s Mexican, friend has been thinking about doing marching band but is still having second thoughts. Jordan on the other hand is on the JV team for soccer so I guess you could say he has better things to do. Soccer is one of my least favorite sports, which is why I play rugby.

As class begins everyone grabs their folders and instruments and takes his seat as Mr. Bleeker gets ready for class to begin. I’m not the only euphonium. There is one other, sophomore Joseph Simmonsma. Joey is also in marching band, you could say he was one of the lame immature freshmen. I am a senior. There are only a few seniors in my class period.

There are four different band periods at Washington H.S. of Symphonic band, and Concert band; both are directed by Mrs. Hawkinson, the head teacher of the band program at WHS. Both bands are higher bands that people try to get into to be better than everyone else. The other two are Varsity and Freshmen; these two are directed by Mr. Bleeker, the assistant band director.

Now, time to get back to get on topic. Jordan Bloker is an awesome freshman that is really good at soccer, now that may seem very racist for a Mexican to be good at soccer but everyone out there knows that its true. I’m only stating a fact that Mexicans are good at soccer and Asians are good at everything. Jordan and I are always doing something we shouldn’t be. Even though we shouldn’t be doing something, Mr. Bleeker never says anything about it so we do it anyway. Anyway, Jordan has a piece on his trumpet that always squeaks when he plays high notes so every time he does so Joey, Jordan, Salvador and I always burst out laughing and everyone else has no idea what’s going on. With Varsity band being one of the “lower” bands, I still believe that Varsity Band is still only a name for a band and with it being the second to lowest bands, I think that it can be just as good as Symphonic Band says they are. In relation to freshmen, Jordan Bloker can still be an awesome freshman even though he is a “freshmen”.