2007

Would you sing to a cow? How about a goat? Believe it or not, this used to be normal for female Scandinavian shepherds, who called their animals home after grazing in nearby fields all day. In Swedish, the practice is formally called Kulning. In English, the closest translation is “Herding calls.” My first experience with it was from a video I saw while scrolling on Instagram, performed by a woman named Jonna Jinton. It had come up without my searching for it, but I listened to her perform the…

Aro Volturi: No one messed with the master's mates. But Aro still got jealous. Since Aro was so busy, you hung out with Alec a lot. Alec and you were best friends and nothing more. When you got back from hanging out with Alec, you saw Aro laying of the bed, frowning. "What's wrong Aro?" you asked, puzzled. He looked away. "You've been hanging around with Alec for a long time." You touched his cheek. "Are you jealous Aro?" "Of course not." You raised your eyebrow. "Well, maybe I'm jealous," Aro…

Growing up in Johto I’ve never really had a whole lot of friends maybe one or two. The people in Goldenrod City never really seemed to agree with me or what I had wanted to be. My parents were breeders and researchers, they wanted to know everything about Pokemon. I on the other hand had wanted to see the way Pokemon battle and their strengths and weaknesses. My parents had never agreed with my view and soon acted like I was never their child but someone who had just entered their house and…

It’s almost expected for someone to write an essay about wanting to go to Africa to help the suffering children and adults because it’s such a simple essay, but I truly mean it. Since I was young I have had the genuine passion for helping others and this odd interest in wanting to do so much, as to visit a third world country. Maybe it was my guilt over not doing anything for others when I was a child, or maybe it was the lack of continued practice of my religion where I would have been taught…

“Gabe” A voice cries out, piercing the cool, late April air, “Gabe, I want you to be higher off the ground when you catch,” screams my coach across the baseball diamond. As dirty sweat drips off of my red face, I examine the field. The whole team knows that I have caught well the first three-fourths of the season. Now with two weeks to play, my coach is trying to adjust my catching style. All season he has ridden me harder than any other player on the team. I have done my absolute best…

Vrooooooom goes the plane after taking off. Looking down at the white fluffy clouds, little buildings, houses, and people, Kayla was flying from California to Florida, to go live with her Aunt because her parents can’t afford to live in California. All of a sudden Kayla Hears Rrrrrr and her hands started to shake. That’s when she realized it wasn’t her hands shaking it was the plane shaking……. “Ahhhahah” Kayla screamed as she grabbed the face mask that popped down from the ceiling.The plane…

Applejack was swept backward from the shock of it, stumbling into the door as Claudia cowered against her. The girl's face clenched into her shoulder, both arms pressing around her waist. Afraid to reach out, afraid the girl might flinch away from her touch, she simply stood there, a passive recipient to the girl's terror, still and silent as dawn in the near-darkness. They were standing so close she could feel her bare knees brush the thin fabric of Claudia's jeans, the girl's breath wisping…

BANG! The sound of the gun going off and suddenly hundreds of feet are pounding on the ground. The heat is oppressive it wraps around me like a boa constrictor and won't let go. Every time I breath it comes out in raspy breaths. I try to swallow my spit because it is the only thing closest to water I will get for the next 5,000 meters. Whenever I do swallow my it is as if I am forcing sandpaper down my throat, which is slowing getting smaller. I need to ignore all of that and work on not getting…

It was among the first few days of June, and my fourteen-year old self hopped out of my mom’s car, with a quizzical look on my face. I was attending the orientation and briefing for the group known as Pony Power, a non-profit organization giving special needs and at-risk children a unique opportunity to ride, care for, and interact with horses. My mom knew the owner, and had signed me up to volunteer here over the summer to help with this organization’s horse therapy. Thoughts were swirling…

Reed's Pet Peeve Hell I could feel the warm breathe pressing against my face. I slowly opened my eyes to see my dog Tripp hovering directly over me. I heard horrid sounds of men and women screaming. I knew I was in for an avarice journey once I looked up and read the words on the sign right above the giant gold gate. The words read " Welcome to Reed's Pet Peeve Hell. No mercy, No exceptions." Panic began to set in as I thought about the words on the sign. Unsure of what to do, I heard a deep…