kindrascherer-blog

[kindrascherer-blog]

Week 13 Writing Response

“Philip Levine”

"What Work Is" made me think about my relationship with my own brothers (and my sister), all three of them work early mornings or late nights. I have never once (based on what I can remember) stated that I love them to their faces, but I have said numerous times to other family members or close friends. My brothers have always picked on me because I am the baby (technically my twin and I are, but I was born last either way), so I've always been snappy with them, one more then the three.

"Gin" was interesting because it's describing the feeling the kids may get after drinking (whether their old enough or not I believe) because usually only adults did, so it made them feel older then they actually were in some ways. This poem reminds me of my brothers because they are old enough to drink and they usually don't do it very often, so whenever we have a family gathering that's what they're drinking instead of the tea or punch everyone else has.

[kindrascherer-blog]

Week 9 Writing Response

“F-111″

I think this story sparked my interest more than "Life's Swell", this story was easier for me to follow along with and shared sentimental values, the piece definitely has a voice, the author first explains that we are born, and then shaped by our culture, he then goes on in the middle he realizes that "we are born, and shaped by our culture", may not be the complete truth. The story is self-discovery evident because he realizes that as I said, we may be shaped by other things instead of just our culture, like those around us and their experiences. In the animation studio, the author talks about making Rosenquist into a "living" piece, which his conversing partner replies, "It would not be a difficult thing", suggesting he may actually do it in order to have that connection with the artist as long as he can. At the end, the author states the F-111 said to him, "Love the machine that formatted the diskette that is you," which leaves the reader with something to share with others like, "My F-111 is..."

[kindrascherer-blog]

Week 3 Writing Response

“Mother’s Tongue”

I liked reading "Mother's Tongue" because it gave me the perspective of someone who has English as a second language. This narrative just backs up the saying "English is the hardest language to learn" because of all of the different rules. Mrs. Tan is as Amy put it, "direct" so it's easy to understand, it is just not proper English therefore people will ignore her and pretend they don't know what she's saying.

[kindrascherer-blog]

Poetry

The Color Blue

The definition of the color blue is always changing,

I’ve heard it defined as warm because of the person wearing it.

I’ve heard it called cold, but everyone’s interpretation of what is cold is different.

So here’s what the color blue means to me.

The color blue is a vast origin of water, that ripples and changes shades with the slightest touch,

Whether a child touches the water, or a rock falls into it, like our minds, our ideas may change with the slightest push towards something else.

Blue is gentle, like the water that steals its shade from the sky.

Blue is sadness, because of its sometimes dark hue.

But blue is also the color of life, the veins that are tangled under your skin are blue, or blue-violet in some cases.

Your veins are a path to the life source that is not blue, your heart.

Parallels of Fire

Fire is the base of “arson” it is the outlaw of water,

When thinking of destruction, fire is one of the topics that appears with ease,

But when thinking of pleasantries, fire is not often thought of as such.

Fire is compassionate, it is consuming, it is powerful, and it is iridescent,

A single push from the wind, causes fire to be in an uproar, it grows and spreads with ease.

It leads the way when things get dark, it is warm when things get cold,

Fire is curious to see new things with its bright eyes, so I say it let it wander.

The Senses of Beauty

When I think of beauty, a voice echoes throughout the air,

The smell of cherry blossoms and sea water engulf my pale face,

The colors green and silver plague my vision,

And then I see her.

The mysterious beauty that wanders about the vines of my thoughts,

Smiling at me, I begin to ignore her, but her scent washes over me.

Bringing me back to her,

So I stay until reality pulls me back.

[kindrascherer-blog]

Creative Non-fiction

The History of St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated every year on March 17, by the Irish and everyone Irish-at-heart. It is a day of the year that if you don’t wear green, you get pinched, or in some cases, it is a day to get intoxicated. Why did I choose St. Patrick’s Day? Because, although I have stopped liking the color green as much as I used to, I still like it and St. Patrick’s Day is the day to wear all things green. Another reason is because, I am (only a small percentage I think) Irish, and I’ve always been interested in the culture, plus it’s my favorite holiday.

St. Patrick’s Day started out as a feast day for patron saint of Ireland. It now has parades, dancing, and many other activities that go along with it. Which are very fun to watch if you have nothing to do. As for the history of St. Patrick himself, he was not actually Irish, but he has become a huge part of the Irish heritage. The saint was born in the later half of 4th Century A.D., his birth place is said to be in Scotland, or Roman England by the name Maewyn Succat (although there is a possibility that was not his name). You may be wondering why it’s called “St. PATRICK’s Day” instead of Maewyn, Patricius is his Romanized name, and he later became known as “Patrick”.

Patrick was kidnapped along with many other boys one day by a band of Pirates, and sold into slavery in Ireland. He spent six years there before escaping after having seen God in a dream, who dictated his escape. After his escape, he traveled to Britain, then France before joining a monastery. After 12 years, he became a Bishop while studying under St. Germain, a bishop of Auxerre. Patrick then dreamed that the Irish were calling him back to them, to teach them about God. In his autobiography (the Confessio), it tells about a dream after his return from Britain; A man named Victoricus handed Patrick a letter titled “The Voice of the Irish”. So, with the blessing of the Pope, Patrick traveled to Ireland.

Once in Ireland, Patrick converted Gaelic Irish, who were then mostly pagans to Christianity, upsetting the Celtic Druids. Patrick was then arrested several times but escaped each time. For twenty years, Patrick had traveled through Ireland opening monasteries, schools, and churches which would aid him in converting people. Patrick is credited with developing a native clergy, fostering the growth of monasticism (monkhood), creating dioceses (a place under the care of a Bishop in a Christian Church), and held church councils.

By the end of the 7th Century, Patrick was quite successful. The legends of his deeds have continued to grow, and it is said that he used the three-leafed clover to explain Trinity. Which my siblings and I used to look for whenever a patch of clovers was around, I remember picking off one of the pieces so it looked like a three-leafed clover. It is also said that he had put the curse of god into the snakes of Ireland, which caused them to travel into the sea and drown. Like all legends I’m sure, Patrick’s were combined with different facts and some were proven false, and some might have been proven true. Patrick’s mission lasted over twenty years in Ireland before he died on March 17th, AD 461, which is why “St. Patrick’s Day” is on that day, it has also been known as the universal baptism of Ireland.

St. Patrick’s Day was originally a Catholic holiday, but it has evolved into a secular holiday, rather than just Catholic. The Catholic feast day for this particular holiday has become a celebration of the Irish, and the Irish culture itself. Symbols of this holiday include as we all known, the shamrock (an ancient symbol of the triple goddess Brigid, the Celtic goddess of inspiration and healing), and a leprechaun (a Celtic fairy).

I love St. Patrick’s Day because as I said in the beginning, I used to really like the color green, but also because usually around March 17th, the snow starts clearing or has already been cleared and things start growing and turning green or other colors again, just like every year when winter ends. Usually, on this day, my family cleans everything from my brother and sister’s birthday (March 16th. They are actually 2 years apart, but they do have the same birthday) and has some kind of mint treat to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Which is another reason I picked this holiday, it reminds of fun times with my family.

[kindrascherer-blog]

Short Story

Winter in Jun

Twelve years ago my family was murdered by the Septori, our castle had been taken over and although, the village was still very prosperous, the villagers themselves were in a dire situation. The Septori were an organization that wore masks to hide their faces, unless speaking to one another in private, due to their red attire, the village was given a dress code so to speak. The lower class wore blue, the middle class wore black, and the Septori or upper class wore red. After the Septori took over, a lot of the villagers disappeared over a period of the first couple of months, we assumed they were sent to other villages as messengers, but suddenly they reappeared and started murdering the lower class, women, children, and men. After the lower class was exterminated, the city was remodeled, and the middle and upper classes were increased in terms of living space.

As I walked around the village on the night of the last day of fall, I heard a shrill cry from a woman a short distance away, taking this as a sign she was in trouble I jumped on the roof of the nearest building and silently walked towards the cloaked figure in front of the woman who was shielding her child.

“Leave us alone!” the woman shouted as her child began to cry.

“Mom..” the child whimpered.

With a low growl, the cloaked figure shoved the woman out of the way and began to drag her child away. Jumping down from the roof, I unsheathed my sword and held it against the man’s neck.

“Let go of the child” I ordered as he stopped mid-step.

“Take it easy..” he replied, letting go of the child who then ran to her mother.

In the moonlight, I noticed that the man’s cloak was a deep red, he is a member of the Septori. As my rage took over, I quickly killed the man and returned to the woman after wiping off my sword.

“Are you alright?” I asked in a masculine tone to hide my femininity.

“Yes, thank you,” she replied gratefully as she stood up and brushed herself off.

“Mom, can we go home?” Her child asked eagerly.

“No need to thank me,” I stated softly, as she was turned away and took the opportunity to leave.

“Still--” the woman started before noticing she was alone.

When I returned to my cozy home above the bakery, I noticed Katerina--the servant who had survived the attack and has taken care of me since--was asleep after waiting a few hours for me to return.

   “Kat,” I said softly, shaking her.

   “What?” she replied groggily, before shooting up as if she was awake the whole time “What?” she repeated.

   “Just letting you know I’m back,” I continued, laughing quietly to myself at her reaction.

“I see”

“Good night Kat!” I yelled a little louder than I wanted to from my room.

“Shhh! Good night Jun,” she replied.

As I laid in bed that night, I thought about all the things I had yet to carry out. I still had to defeat the Septori, and reclaim my throne. After that, there was even more, I had to do. Tomorrow, I will arrange a meeting with my supporters so we could finally start the attack. Waking up the next day, I made breakfast for Kat and me, then sat down and waited for her to stand still.

   “Kat,” I stated as she paced back and forth with several dishes. “Sit,” I ordered.

   “Sorry, what is it?”

   “We need to have a meeting. Tonight”

   “I’ll let the others know,” she replied standing up and grabbing the extra sheets we kept within a cubby.

Pinning them to a clothesline outside our window as to look normal, but that is the signal we used to contact the supporters. As she leaned back into the small room, Kat decided to start knitting, while I did this morning’s dishes. Soon we heard a soft knock on the door, which meant it was time to go out.

   “Let’s go, Kat,” I said softly, grabbing my sword and walking out the door.

   “Yes ma’am” she replied grabbing a basket of flowers that covered maps and other documents.

Arriving at an abandoned warehouse, we knocked on the door using another signal of ours. Stepping inside, I noticed there were more people than I expected as Kat laid out the documents on a table centered in the room.

   “Princess, what is this about?” a scar-faced man asked, before looking over the documents.

   “We’re going to overtake the castle, tonight” I replied, glancing at each person in the room.

   “A blizzard is coming tonight, we’ll have to hurry” a different man added.

   “That will give us cover. Dress warm enough to get through, but nothing that will slow us down, got it?” Kat replied.

   “Very good observation Kat,” I praised.

   “Thank you, milady” she replied shyly.

   “Now, we have the route of entry for the castle, this secret door here and regroup here when the guards have been taken out,” I continued, pointing at the map of the castle.

   “Yes, milady” the others replied.

   “Make sure you defeat everyone, we can’t have anyone attacking again. We meet at twilight in the woods, next to the oak tree” I added sternly.

Several short nods were thrown my way in understanding, as the others filed out of the warehouse ten minutes apart.

   “Milady” the scar-faced man stated, bowing slightly as he walked out.

   “Kat,” I whispered “let one of the others know that we need to keep an eye on him” I added as she leaned towards me.

   “Yes, milady” she replied and headed off to tell our “landlord”.

When Kat returned, we took our leave as well and walked through the market on our way home, picking up several vegetables, meats and fruits for storing.

At twilight, Kat and I had been the first to arrive at the oak, so we helped each other with armor and weapons. Kat may have been shy, and gentle, but she was also strong and fearless, and I trusted her more than anyone. As the others arrived, I was told that the scar-faced man was a member of the Septori, and was killed soon after his departure from our meeting.

   “Remember what I told you. We will soon be victorious!” I stated as the Septori guards patrolled nearby as it began to snow heavily.

   Two men had been sent as scouts to kill the patrol, and we were to wait ten minutes before we would continue. However, we soon heard the cooing of a “bird” and began to move towards the secret entrance. Once inside, I split the group into thirds and we went throughout the castle silently, room-to-room taking out the Septori guards.

Just as I killed a guard, I heard footsteps approaching the room I was in, stepping back I waited for the person to enter.

   “Hey, Tom... I heard something from down the hall and need backup, come quick” an unknown voice said softly before entering the room.

   Before he noticed the body, I quickly thrust my sword into his chest from behind and slowly lowered him to the ground to keep the noise down. Leaving the room, I shut the door if we missed any guards and headed to the regroup spot.

   “Milady, we’re ready for the next attack” Kat stated as several others nodded.

   “Leave the man on the throne to me” I replied before signaling the last attack.

As we entered the room, several people shouted and rose quickly before being impaled by swords and axes as the supporters of mine raged through the hall. A silent man sitting on the throne was about to slip away before I ran up to him and pointed my sword at his neck.

   “Stay,” I stated as my men finished their task. “Now, why did you kill the king, steal our castle, and plague our village with crime?” I added as Kat blocked his exit.

   “Your father was responsible for my son’s death. My son had gone to fight in your father’s silly repetitive wars, all four of them and then he was killed in the last war. My son was killed by your father’s decision to keep fighting instead of ending the situation another way!” he explained.

   “My father started several wars? Why was not aware of this?” I asked shocked, looking at the villagers as they cast their eyes down.

   “You didn’t know? I guess the king lied to everyone..” he replied laughing wickedly. “By the way, I do not know your name..” he added.

   “Jun Kasai, rightful Queen of Adelyn,” I stated before throwing him to the ground, “Take him to the gallows” I added as my men picked him up off the floor.

   Soon after our victory, the leader of the Septori, known as Raven, his birth given name is unknown, was hanged for treason and buried. The village was again, remodeled and the walls separating the upper and middle classes were demolished. A large feast was held in honor of the new ruler, and trade was resumed within the village. Today is my coronation, and Kat is more excited than I am.

   “Kat, please calm down” I stated as she went around the room giggling.

   “I simply cannot Milady, we finally get to change your attire and you’re going to be Queen!” she replied beaming, putting small flowers into my pixie-like hair.

   After Kat finished helping me get ready, we walked to the hall where my coronation is held. As I walked unsteadily up to the large podium where a man waited for me, holding the crown.

   “Today we celebrate our new ruler, Jun Kasai, Queen of Adelyn!” the man boomed throughout the hall. Several cheers were heard, and drinks were raised as I sat upon the throne.

“Now, please eat and enjoy yourselves” I added before several people dug into their food. Although winter had just begun, it felt as if the sun was shining on our village happily and would keep shining forever.

[kindrascherer-blog]

Personal Narrative

My Best Friend

The experience I’ve chosen to write about is, the amount of time I’ve known my best friend and what we’ve been through together. It all starts in sixth grade, after my siblings and I switched schools. Going from a school that has several floors to a school that really only has one hallway was quite the change, although I did not talk very much my first few weeks, I eventually made a few friends as well as some enemies.

My first few friends were very strange because they were all boys, and previously I had never had a friend that was a boy, so this was a new experience. Wanting to fit in, I started dressing more and more like a 6th grade boy would, even though I had a purple jacket or painted fingernails sometimes. The few enemies I had was a group of girls that my twin sister was best friends with, and after several altercations, I decided it was time to find a new group of friends, since the others I had were joining in on picking on me. A few days passed and I had no luck finding someone that wanted to be friends with me, but my class was switched around because of new seating chart, and I sat next to a very shy, but very loud blonde-haired girl.

My first thought was “Oh no, she’s won’t like me either”, but that wasn’t the case. She had introduced herself as Haley Nyssen and started talking about her likes, such as “Skillet”, a band we both loved, and her love for Ramen noodles. Her dislikes, which were anything that wasn’t pink or a frog, and her hobbies like hanging out with friends, playing the guitar, singing, etc. After getting to know each other more, we realized we were similar in most ways. During my seventh grade year, I decided that my fashion sense had changed again so I started wearing darker clothing, this was also the year I met Haley’s parents. That was very awkward for me because I’m very shy and not only that, but I am very clumsy so I tripped when trying to shake her mother’s hand and fell up a few stairs which caused her parents to laugh for awhile.

My eighth-grade year was not much different, I was more comfortable around Haley’s parents and we had several days that we spent lots of time together, I remember going to her house and playing video games like Call of Duty, or walking around town. My freshman year was very long, or at least it felt that way, Haley had gotten her first boyfriend, my parents were trying to get back together and it seemed like everything was going awesome. However, near the end of the school year lots of things started happening, most of them were not good. My mother had moved out, and during that summer I moved and switched schools again due to financial circumstance and personal preferences my dad had, so I was not happy to leave my best friend and all of the other friends I had made. Haley and I kept in touch throughout the summer though, but not as much as we used to.

My sophomore felt like junior high all over again, new school, having to make new friends, and getting to know the way to my classes. Haley had come over a few times and had met my new friends during a volleyball game we had against her, and I was glad they got along well. My junior year had lots of activity, Haley and I had to take the SAT and lots of things were happening to my mother. My siblings and I had found out that the cervical cancer she had previously in 2008 had relapsed and spread so she was put into a Chemotherapy program. When I was visiting my mother, I spent more time with Haley because she lived in the same town as my mother. I went to several events with Haley such as youth group events that she was involved in, although most times I didn’t attend because I needed to spend time with my other siblings as well.

A few days after my junior year ended, my mother had an infection from a surgery she had a few weeks earlier and had to stay in the hospital, over this time period my family had been told that the chemotherapy was not helping her anymore and they couldn’t use radiation because it would probably damage her further due to her frailness, so they had estimated she would live for another month or so. This experience is the worst I’ve ever gone through, so I called Haley and explained everything, after explaining the situation I could tell she didn’t know what to say so I offered to change the subject. My mother was moved to Hospice (A facility as I understand, that is used for people who are terminally ill). She spent most of her time there coloring and watching old movies, while we visited and spent nights with her.

During this time, Haley and I didn’t spend very much time together, but I talked to her a lot over the phone and she had her own stories to tell. Late July, my mother had passed away and in early August we held a visitation service, that Haley came to. She only stayed for a few hours because her mother had other plans for the day and Haley also had a dentist appointment, so later in the day I called her and we conversed for a bit about everything, such as shows we watched, like Naruto, and Sword Art Online, books, such as Divergent, The Hunger Games, and The Imdalind Series, video games, etc.

The first day of my senior year was interesting because for the most part no really knew what to say to me and my sister about our mom, or just didn’t feel it was the right time. Haley had lots to tell me about her first day though, which I was grateful for, because talking about a quiet first day of school isn’t exactly entertaining. Haley has been with me for a very long time, but surprisingly we’ve never fought about anything. The only time we’ve really disagreed was when she told me her dog was cute, but her dog scares me because his tear ducts are too big so his eyes look like they're going to pop out of his head. Haley is an amazing friend and I wouldn’t ask for anyone else.