One of my biggest heroes is my older brother Devin. I have had so many good friends and examples in my life, but he still is probably the top of my list. I have made many mistakes since he has been gone.
I believe that if he had been home, I wouldn’t have made the choices I did that led me to AYS. When he left for his mission, I lost my best friend and my guide through tough times in my life. Two months later, I was getting into serious relationships and spending less time with my family.
I will be going home in around two months. My brother won’t be home for another nine months from the time I get back. I will have a tough time without him but I know I will stay out of trouble. My test will show if I really am man enough to stand up to the pressures of life.


Regan

In a lot of 3rd world countries there is no education and a lot of the people living there cant even read or write. A lot of kids in the united states don’t know how lucky they are to be able to read write and go to school, even I am ungrateful sometimes. I think that everyone should be able to have the chance of an education. I took three years of German and I didn’t take advantage of it and I can only say a limited amount of the language, I wasted three years because I was ungrateful for the chance I had and thought nothing of it. Now I wish I could go back and do it again so I could actually learn all that my teachers taught me. I’m taking this as a lesson learned and I am going to pay attention in class and learn what I am being taught, or at least try. I am not going to waste the next years of my education on goofing off and sleeping in class. This is my time and I am going to use it wisely.

Nick

Life
I don’t know everything about life. I do know lots about it though most of my knowledge comes from my own experiences, and some knowledge from others experience. I have a song I like. It is called “life aint always beautiful” by Gary Allen. In the song it explains how life is full of difficulties, and like my good friend says “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get”. A quote from the song is “ life can knock you down, it can break your heart”. If you think about it that is a very true statement If you have ever had girl or boy problems then more than likely your heart is broken, and I am more than sure that life has knocked you down at least once.

Life is hard just like change because you can say I’ll work on it but it is hard to really work on something. Let’s be honest with ourselves everyone has had some sort of difficulty. I have been in this group home almost 20 months and somebody asked me “how do you keep your sanity?”. My response was I try to remember that somebody always has it worse than me. Yeah I was abused and neglected but at least I became fortunate enough to know who my parents were. I consider myself lucky because now I am pretty taken care in states custody though I hurt a lot of people around me and I’m willing to bet are still hurting. Personally we may feel like we have reached a bottom, but you can always pull yourself up. I once was reading a paper that says “life is made up of 100%, 10% is what happens to us, and the other 90% is how we react to it”.

I can’t wait until next week. You want to know why? Because it’s Christmas. I get to go home for Christmas. I’m glad that I get a home visit with my family. On Wednesday I went to court my Judge was so happy for me he said that he would approve for me to go on a home visit with my grandparents. My judge thinks that I can get out in March or April. I can’t wait to go home and sleep in my own bed. My bed is so comfortable that I can fall asleep really fast.

On Christmas Eve I will be going shopping with my mom for Christmas because she doesn’t know what to get me and I don’t know what she needs to get me so she’s going to take me shopping to get whatever I want. My grandma that I’m restricted to see got me presents and gave me a gift card to somewhere that I don’t know so she gave me that for me to get some things that I want and I will hang out at my moms after we eat lunch. Were probably going to eat at that El Pollo Loco restaurant. Then at 7:00 later that night I’m going to stay the night at my grandparents house until Christmas the next day. I will be staying with them until 2:00 on Christmas.

Then I will be hanging out at the group home because my program director got everyone presents. We will also be playing video games all day.

I can’t wait to see my family next week. On Christmas my family will be coming over because my grandparents do games and competitions for the family and I get to see my brother that I haven’t seen for 5 months. My grandma is going to make Honey Baked Ham for Christmas and she throws a little family party with the family. It gets so fun. It’s a tradition for the family to come over to do games and open presents.

Tayler

I think dignity is the state of being respected by others and respecting one’s self. I think dignity is honoring oneself with love and letting go of self-hatred. I think that dignity can be surrendered when new give up and let other people manipulate ourselves, and we allow ourselves to become depressed. I also think that dignity can be surrendered by not caring about ourselves or our appearance.
To me selling out means becoming someone else’s tool. It means we have to be fully reliant on others when we can take care of ourselves. Selling out is voluntarily being at the whim of someone who abuses you and uses you.
The line between selling out and having a shred of dignity is the fact that we are strong and self reliant, and recognizing this is having dignity. Selling out is sacrificing your dreams and accomplishments to be a shadow of one’s former self.


Nick B.

As I sit and think about the changes that I have seen in the world, I see changes everyday. Even if it’s something really small, there is one. The world as a whole needs to be an idealist. We cannot give up. Where would all of us be if we chose to give up in tough situations that we encounter everyday? And give up all aspects of hope.

We are privileged to know how to read. Many people never learned, let alone have a school to go to.

A lot of people think they have had a lot taken away from them. Those same people think when other people that have a lot more than them think the same thing as them, their life tends to suck even more. Especially comparing it. In the end, they start getting it in their mind that everybody else has it better than them.

We need to love people the time when they are down because that is the time when they need it the most.

Rachel

Christmas.
Christmas to a lot of kids these days is all about getting cool gifts and how much gifts they get. I hate Christmas when its only viewed as just getting gifts and candy. To me Christmas is about getting together with the family and enjoying the time spent together. Kids now days are pretty ungrateful for what they get for Christmas, they expect their parents to get them exactly what they want and if they don’t get it then they are mad or dsapointed in their parents and the parents feel bad because they couldn’t get their kid the thing they wanted and now their kids are sad. When my aunt asked me what I wanted for Christmas I told her nothing but a hug, and I don’t expect anything more. The media makes Christmas even worse because they show these kids getting expensive gifts form their parents and when a kid sees that they say, well if that kids parents can afford it then so can mine. Then when they don’t get if from their parents they are disappointed. It makes me sad to see the world like this. So kids lets show our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends etc. that we are grateful for them in our lives and what they give us, so if you don’t get what you wanted be happy anyways that you have your family there with you on Christmas.

Nick

JOURNAL

Monday December 8th it was my group homes Christmas party for the staff. We, the kids, watched Tuxedo and had pizza and soda. That started at 6:00 and went until 7:40. After that we did personal time. We have levels in our program and I’m on the level where I can play video games. Then my program director called me and two others up that were on the highest levels and said you can have whatever you want. So I got some hot wings and a pie with whip cream, chocolate and Oreo’s. I had a fun time.

My program director put like a mountain of whip cream on my ice cream pie. I ate it all then I was up until 12:00 throwing up. I think that it was worth it. I loved the food and I wasn’t like full on throwing up but I was like spitting some stuff out. If I have good food right out in front of me I will go for it. I want trying to make myself sick. I was hungry and when I’m hungry I will eat.

I can’t wait until Christmas because I’m going to eat a lot of food. My grandma makes a lot of food on Christmas and that’s when I get to pig out on anything. What I want for Christmas is an ipod touch. I like those things. I also get to go home overnight and I can’t wait. It has been one full year since I have been to my house. I can’t wait to sleep in my own comfortable bed. The next day I got put on probation for it but I was told it was for self-control. I need that to be able to get out of my program.

Tayler

Where I’m Going..

My plans for the next year: I’ll continue going to Summit, getting a job, and possibly getting adopted. If I get adopted, I’ll be able to get a car also.

Within the next 5 years I want to be graduated from high school and starting college. I want to go skydiving, base-jumping and travel to some amazing place to do some extreme snowboarding! I’m going to get my license to become a CNA then within a year or 2 after that an RN to start off my career. I will be making good money doing what I love.

Within the next 10 years I want to be married, maybe with a child. I don’t want to be an “old” mom ha-ha! I want to be close to finishing the 16 years of college I need to become an orthipedic surgeon. I would like to be making better money and a have bigger home with 2 cars.

20 years from now I’ll be approaching 37. I will be finished with school, starting in my career and have a family. I only want to have 2 kids. I want a big house with a pool, gym, movie theatre, and a dance room so I can keep dancing and all that other fun stuff.

I just want to be happy wherever life takes me. Wherever that may be.

Rachel

Christmas

I am going to write about the holiday coming up in a couple of weeks. Everybody is rushing and trying to get decorations, presents, and do all of these things that aren’t really necessary. Christmas is one of the holidays that I just don’t really enjoy. I like the outside, how cold it is, and being able to go play outside in the snow.

Personally, I think a lot around big holidays like this one. I always think about the people that aren’t here to share this holiday with. It is important for me to be with my family during the holidays. My family is really important to me, so I tend to think about the family that I wont be able to be with this year. I will go home on Christmas Eve and be back Christmas day. It is just kind of sad that I wont be able to see my brother or family all that much. So, I don’t really like the holidays as much as a lot of people do.


Kelsee

Summit staff

I actually enjoy the staff here at Summit. You got Matt the English teacher who loves baseball and is still really cool. You got Jesseca the history teacher who was in chorus, and she can be as strict as a brick wall. Yet she can sing amazingly (for being a teacher). You have Ben the science teacher who can shoot 3 pointers over your head , wants to be your daddy, and makes you work hard to succeed in life. You got Jeanie who used to be in a branch of military, and yet she is the nicest, most generous lady you will meet in a secondary school. We have Jo the photo teacher who happened to be a body builder back in the day, and still she makes you work for everything you’ll earn in her class. And last but certainly not least you have Dr. Bob who is a therapist, and he is still the nicest principal I have ever had.

James

I think heritage is what is left for us by our ancestors. Our heritage is what was done by those who came before us and what we do for our descendants.
My heritage includes the fact that I am Mormon, this comes from my ancestors who came across the plains and settled a new state and founded new cities. My progenitors includes British royalty and historic heroes like the German crusader Frederick Barbarossa, and the protectors of Christian France; Charles Martel and Charlemagne. The lineage I am a part of includes many people who fought and even died for all that we have now.
However I cannot forget the struggles of my grandparents and even my mother to give me the kind of lifestyle that they did not have.
I agree with the first heritage quote about how we need to act on the positive and healthy things we have been taught to bring honor to ourselves and our families. We should live with standards and ethics, and try to pass them on to our children.

Nick B.

I think I listen to sad songs to justify my feelings and continue on when I feel sad. I feel bad and I want a reason to stay sad. So I listen to music that is about suicide and depression.
There are two particular songs I listen to when I want to stay depressed, “Dear God” by XTC, and “Adam’s Song” by Blink-182. “Dear God” by XTC is a song about how God doesn’t exist and that this life is awful, bitter, and short. “Adam’s Song” by Blink-182 is a suicide note turned into a song. The suicide note is about how the boy who killed himself felt “too depressed to go on” and that he had many conflicting emotions before his death. Another song I would listen to less frequently was “Blasphemous Rumours” by Depeche Mode. It’s also about the life of a suicidal teen.
Every time I would listen to these songs I would want to end my life or go out and hurt myself. I think it is partially because of how the sad lyrics blend with the melancholy music giving the passion of the words and even darker meaning.

Nick B.

Music is a big part of my life. If it’s the right kind of music it puts me in a good mood and makes me happy, My favorite kind of music is either rock or country its hard for me to decide because both of them are very good. My favorite country singer is Tim McGraw he is really good and a lot of his songs I can relate to and that makes me like his music a lot it makes it easy to listen to also. I have a lot of favorite rock bands, It mostly depends on what mood I am in. if I am in a rock out mood Limp Bizkit is for me, If I am out camping I usually listen to metallica because that is my dads side of the families favorite band. So it all just depends on what I am doing and how I feel. Rap is ok if I am feeling like a hard ace but to me rap degrades women to much for me to listen to it all the time. Even some rock songs do the same so I like to listen to the words of the song before I start saying that I like that song because that’s what a lot of people do and they don’t even know why they like the song or they just like it because everyone else does. So what I am saying to you is listen to the words of the song because that is what the song is about it is not about the beat of the song.

Nick

The purpose that the blues is by playing sad and gloomy songs. When you listen to sad songs it sometimes makes you depressed. Me it makes me happy and I forget what I was sad about. When I listen to sad songs and I’m really depressed it makes me more depressed because I’m already really sad. Then I listen to a sad song and it makes me more depressed.

Why we listen to sad songs because we are either sad, gloomy or depressed. I listen to it because like slow beats of slow sad songs and I like them because some of them are love songs too. The kind of music that I listen to when I’m sad is fast techno like Cascada. I also like country because I was born in the country because they make me happy. My favorite is techno because it’s a fast beat and when I listen to it. It makes me happy and I want to dance.

How the lyrics and music affects me is I feel sad because of blues and I think about my family and the things that I used to do with them. My family and me would go camping and I cant do those because I’m in a group home. My grandparents and me like country and especially George Straight.

Tayler

I would donate all five million to West Jordan High School. I want to WJHS to start having region championships and hopefully a State Championship here soon. We have never won one in football in school history. A big problem is we lose our athletes to other rival schools. This happens because they want to play for a strong school. They don’t believe that about our program.
By having that money they could greatly improve their sports facilities. Having nice things would attract athletes, while putting the school on the map. Colleges would see more in WJHS. More scholarships would be offered to us.
I have hard feelings toward myself for leaving my brothers out in the cold the way I did. This would be a good way to start paying my debt back. Everything else is insignificant to me right now.

Regan

Music Is My Life

I think that we choose to listen to sad music because it seems to relate to whatever we’re going through at the moment. The song that you listen to makes you think about what they were going through when they wrote it. Well, if you actually listen to the lyrics. Personally, when I’m sad I try to find a lot of upbeat like techno music, or songs I know will lift my spirits. However, the stations I always seem to turn it to with the pop/alternative music I really like are all depressing songs. The artist talks about how someone either broke their heart, cheated on them, or died. Unless you luckily run into a song like “Peaches!” The one that goes, “Millions of peaches, peaches for me! Millions of peaches, peaches for free.”

I love happy music, so I try my hardest to search for it and avoid all the rest. Do you listen to the lyrics of a song? Or do you just listen to the beat? Lyrics are something that means a lot to me. Every song I hear, it’s the lyrics before the beat that I listen to; my mood is influenced by the words they say. When I’m sad, I will write poems and songs. It’s a really easy way with out even talking to someone to get out all that you’re feeling.

~Rachel