Broken Pencils

  A Who is kind, funny, and smart. Who is the daughter of Amanda and Jess Who loves books, friends, and her siblings Who feels tired, smart, happy Who needs peace, quiet, sleep Who gives support, affection, advice Who fears death, spiders, and imperfection Who would like to see comradery, friendship, and love Who shares good values, food, and attention  Who is a writer, artist, and creative person             A

  Dear Past Alysyn, Hi, it’s been a while since I thought of you. I know it’s been rough more recently looking for Lilly, and I know that little dummy would have found you soon if she knew where to look. I know that you miss her and I know that she does too. She was always your favorite animal and you were always her favorite person. I know you hated when she used to eat your hair, but I also know you hate it now that she's not here to annoy you. I know that you miss all of her weird things. I also know that if she and Wilber met, they would get along perfectly. I miss watching her run into walls after living there for years. I miss watching her and Roo start fighting over nothing. I know you miss her constant wailing, and it may make you feel better that Wilber does the same. I know it was really hard to get over her, and I also know that letting her run wasn't fair to me or us. I also know that it was really hard to get over her, and I may still not be over it. I know it'...

  Everyone has a different definition of a “good” day. Some people think a good day is laying around the house and others believe hanging out with friends makes it better. No matter the definition everyone can agree that kind words can make their day just a little bit better. Encouraging others can often make you feel more motivated as well. I personally believe that making other people shine increases how good a day is.  My personal philosophy is to make everyday brighter by making others shine. I’m a firm believer that I practice what I preach. So if I spend everyday being a grouch and projecting that on others then I’m just going to make my day worse. Instead of that I try to go about my day with as much whimsy as possible. Choosing to complement others and reach out a helping hand inadvertently makes my day a little better each action at a time. Knowing that my actions are bettering someone else makes me happy. 

  Dear 3rd grade Erin, I know that you’re going through a very tough time. Your parents are getting divorced and people are still bullying you. The people are saying mean things about your weight and your glasses. Your dad is still drinking quite a bit, and your cat recently passed away. I know that you feel like you can’t talk to anyone about your problems.  Your life gets a little better. Your parents still aren’t civil. They argue every time they talk, but you don’t have to deal with it as much. You learned that just because your parents don’t get along you don’t have to let yourself drown in their sorrow.  People still talk about you, but you’ve learned that other people’s opinions on you don’t define you. You have become a lot more confident because you realized others don’t define your worth. You have some of the best friends and the best boyfriend. They never let you go a day without telling you how much they appreciate you. Mom got us a new cat and she just ha...

  Killian Who is helpful, friendly, and brown. Who is the son of Eric Hutchcraft.  Who loves basketball, track, friends.  Who feels determined, confident, happy.  Who needs food, sleep, basketball.  Who gives advice and help. Who fears spiders, roller coasters, getting injured.  Who would like to see the world, friends succeed, himself succeed. Who shares laughter, jokes, and good vibes. Who is a good person, a track 2x mvp, and an athlete.  Who is a resident of Grayville.   Killian

  Ava Who is cringe Who is the daughter of Melissa and Kyle Who loves art,doing hair,singing Who feels tired, sore, bored Who needs sleep, food, Starbucks Who fears heights, being trapped, losing loved ones Who would like to see many cities, northern lights, through a telescope,Who shares laughs, hugs, and advice.  Who is a sister, daughter, friend Who is a resident of Illinois

LouEllen  Worked to the bone until the day she died.  This world will miss her careless humor.  Her happy presents,  and most of all her wise words.  The pain many of her fellow family member s felt was too great for this world.  Many sat and cried.  While others just decided to die.  She will forever be praised for her efforts.  But we will forever be engraved with the thought of all her leforts. 

  Dear 3rd grade me,  I know what you're going through right now, the fake friends, the scary teacher. Right now it seems like the end of the world. Not understanding the homework, and not being able to read like everyone else is a struggle because of the lack of help in your circumstance. But do not fear because everything will get better in a few years. Once you get through Junior High, those people won't matter anymore.  What they say won't affect you as much because you will learn to find your own self confidence within yourself. For your academic issue, you will eventually learn to take your abilities into your own hands. It's important for you to understand that the pressure is on you for now on. You are going to have to put in more effort than average to keep your head above water in school. Please stay away from all distractions. Don't try out for your Junior High cheer team or participate in volleyball or crosscountry. Yes you will enjoy it, but at what...

An angel, bright as one could be. A voice as light as a flying bee. Even the night sky couldn't compete,  The starry night would like to meet. As sad as one could say, Too much to display. As a sound fades out. Regret will sprout. Pretty like a flower blooming in the spring A diamond on a ring. Talented in so many ways, no ways to recreate This fate came on too early of a date.

  As a kid I was obsessed with the idea, “Everything has to be perfect”. During the summer every morning I would wake up and  head straight into doing something art related. Rather it was painting, coloring, or crocheting, it always had to be perfect to the tea. I was driven by the image, ‘If it's not perfect, it's not worth keeping, or showing.’  Shortly in the future, I learned that's not how it has to be, as why fix something that does need to be fixed? Everytime I would paint I would redo the same stroke at least 30 times, at the end of my painting it looked smudged, and blurry. It didn't need to be fixed, but I let the’ imperfections’ drive me to fix it.  I would get mad, as it wasn't perfect: it had changed so much, it didn't make me happy seeing the result. After a while of having this mindset, I stopped painting. I was disappointed and upset about every painting. This affected me a lot, in many ways. I stopped trying on assignments, or even art, as I w...

  The Broken and the Wounded By: Lucy Why do we break the broken and heal the wounded? The morning of Forgive and forget. The reason to say yes to another day and be the one that shows joy to others, that doesn't kill the pain in others. The joy is worth another day. Every day someone will feel other emotions besides happiness, the majority of the time people are anxious. It's a part of being human but that doesn't mean they are hurtful to others, so why do you think you should be?  For starters forgive and forget is an important saying. Used a lot in the English language. It shows the power of forgiving others but in a respectful manner. As well as forgetting about the past and the mistakes that could happen. It's a powerful message, just like “ why do we break the broken and heal the wounded?.” The broken are strong souls and have been through a lot. It's the people at school that are having those hard days, or the ones crying in the hallway. They have endured som...

  The Cold Light  By: Lucy I wish I could show you how my life is in my eyes The way my eyes see the knife of life The music of the band And the stand of a kindness from another strand Cold and sad bold and brightly mad All the joy of my life A new wrath to my knife Being there for whom  Who has womb The rise of the sun And the final set of nun

  We cannot change the past. We can not change the fact that people act a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. If someone doesn't stand for anything, then they will fall for anything. If they did speak their mind, remember it’s not what they said but how they said it.  The same morning of the summer program, a girl had just found out that her grandma had passed away. She was devastated because her grandmother was the only person who actually understood her and helped her through everything,  even teaching her more then she could ever imagine. But she still went to Trio because she didn’t want to miss the first day. She had let her emotions take over her and she had cried and was even mean to people she didn’t even know. That was all because she couldn’t control herself, she forgot to think before she spoke and she hurt a few people. But that same day, one of her friends tha...

  The breath may slow, the path may grow dim,  But faith still anchors in the deep.  The understanding of one That doesn’t have to run.  The promises are forgotten, bonds are broken,   The truth is spoken.  The laughter dies down,  The beautiful town turns to a ghost town.  A voice that was once vociferous,  A kind luctiferous.  And when your roads end, we will meet again,  But this time in the Pearly White Gates. 

    Lament Standing in the field holding his head high People all around come around to say bye In awe of his drive  They now try to strive  Grief The thought of death bring us close   We have people stand by his post We were guided by him in ease He left us in peace Praise He died doing what he loved We followed him like a flock of doves Never forgotten or lost all though hes crossed We have all experienced his loss

  Bio Poem  Gunner  Who is Rude, Annoying, Hyper Who is the brother Hunter Who loves Silence, running, shooting Who feels Angry, Happy, annoyed Who needs A phone, silence, Money Who gives Sadness, Anger, Hugs Who fears Tornado, quick sand, hights Who would like to see God, million bucks,  Who shares hugs, food , and money Who is A son, A friend, A runner Who is a resident of Willow hill Gunner

  Dear Sofia,  I know that seventh grade has been a very rough year for you. Depression can be a very rough thing to fall into especially whenever you are young and in school because you may believe that nobody cares about you and that you aren't good enough or smart enough in school. Everything has been weighing you down all because of just a few mean inconsiderate pricks, they were your bestest friends before they became so self centered and sometimes you might forget that now and just only see them as bad people but deep down somewhere they remember those late nights playing games and church camps that you all vowed to be friends forever. Deep in their hearts and in your heart you all still care about each other and they know they care enough just to act like they hate you.  Depression has been a tough thing to fight but you are tougher, you got through this time in your life by really sticking close to your friends that you know are good people and that you know c...

          Have you ever been in a time where you felt as if nothing would get better? Well if you haven't then you just may be lucky, and if you have then I want you to hear this. Times can be tough but the storm will always pass over, sometimes you just have to wait it out.  Many people just give up on things that happen because they do not believe it will get any better no matter what they do, but again others do the opposite and try everything in hopes to make it better. I was one of the people to try everything to make it better, and this is a time where I did just that, I had once lived with my mom and of course that doesn't sound bad just to start off with but for me my mom was not a very good or helpful person in my life. When I was at her house I felt as if I was a dog trapped in a room just scratching and scraping at the door trying to get out to no avail. I tried many of times to tell my mom how I felt and to tell her about why I wanted not...

  JUNE 1 Failure can teach you a lesson by helping you realize what you did wrong and how you could do better the next time you do it. For example I personally had once attempted to join the ILMEA choir for a performance that they do once a year, I at the time was in 7th grade and the week that I was meant to send the audition I ended up being sick and it was causing my throat to hurt and I wasn’t able to sing very well without my voice cracking or me coughing. I still ended up having to audition and I did very poorly. During my time practicing and trying out it helped me realize that while I was sick it made me try much harder to sing and perform well, causing me to be able to sing better after I was no longer sick.  June 3  Technology is making the world a better place by helping humans create and find new medicines, missing people, ways to talk to others who can”t always do it for themselves, and even help us find new ways to work. Technology also helps students and te...

  Ivory Who is funny, loud, silly. Who is the daughter Brandy. Who loves arctic foxes, my friends, anime. Who feels sleepy, loved, happy. Who needs a nap, food, my friends. Who gives cuddles, support, love. Who fears spiders, heights, what's in the darkness. Who would like to see, my brother more, the Demon Slayer movie, arctic foxes. Who shares happiness, sadness, love. Who is a she, from Illinois, a child. Who is a resident of Albion, Illinois Ivory 

  June 11  I want older people to understand that not everyone in our generation is bad. Kids these days are confident and accepted. Though some of the younger kids dress badly we're not all bad. I think people knowing what they want to be or how they want to act is great. I’m sure older people will understand one day that being something that isn’t what they were born as is fine. June 18 School should not ban junk food. They shouldn’t do this because not everyone can eat only good food or none surgery food. Like diabetic people, they need “junk food” or surgery food to keep their blood sugar up. Also some people can’t only eat healthier foods they also need surgery or greasy foods to add to their food pallet. I hope the school can understand that they shouldn’t ban junk food.

  Chelsey Who is creative, kind, and determined.  Who is the sister of Koralyn.  Who loves art, show choir, and nature.  Who feels sympathetic, tired, and goofy.  Who needs me time, sleep, and her sister.  Who gives time, support, and advise Who fears death, the unknown, and losing people.  Who would like to see a better America, more sympathy, and nature’s beauty.  Who shares laughs, hugs, and insight.  Who is a sister, helper, and friend.  Who is a resident of Fairfield Chelsey.  

  Vinni Who is Loyal, Honest, Funny Who is the daughter of ENW Who loves writing, reading, singing Who feels introverted, empathetic, caring Who needs my friends, my cat, my family Who gives advice, kindness, and respect Who fears trusting people, loving someone new, letting down my walls Who would like to see my sister grow up, my mom find love, myself graduate Who shares with my sister, my family, and my friends Who is a reader, a listener, an introvert Who is a resident of Robinson, IL

Dear Vinni,  I know sixth through eighth grade was difficult for us but trust me it gets better. Highschool at that time may seem scary and make you feel uneasy but trust me it is so much better than middle school. I would not say everyone is nice and kind but you have friends. I know eighth grade was the hardest because you left so many people when you moved but trust me you made new friends. Their names are Serena, Brielle, Gunner, Hunter, Sofia, Jett, Levi, Elizabeth, and there are so many more. In eighth grade please avoid Shelby. Trust me the things that happen between me and him are not worth the pain. You need to avoid Toren and Nico too and a different Levi. It just makes it harder for you to get over people. In seventh grade please focus on yourself and stop trying to date Peyton. It's not going to work out. All I have left to say is take care of yourself. You need to especially the summer before eighth grade. You're working yourself too hard as it is and it real...

  In memory of  Serena Good, strong child of god She was born wild, grew up very odd She was like a wild rose  Who loved her photos The sky will now be bright  Like the fight in her eyes The rest of her life slipped out of his hands  Like the ashes that now flow through the sand  Although the world was cruel  She had a heart filled with fuel  Although people cry now  At least she can fly high