The Pigman chapter 11
https://docs.google.com/a/nrschools.org/document/d/1rHmX3wqVFMRvJofpOzwY98BOKt9J9f79QsFmjWIJ_4w/edit

How Well Do You Know Your Kid article
http://www.newsweek.com/how-well-do-you-know-your-kid-166656

The Pigman chapters 9 and 10
https://docs.google.com/a/nrschools.org/document/d/1_5cJoN5Icl3ICNlk8JL2jRzbk9YUa-0ZJYnfK0wZUWM/edit

Mrs. Griffin's web site link to chapters 9 and 10
https://sites.google.com/a/nrschools.org/mrs-griffin-s-web-place/assignments

The Pigman chapter 6
https://docs.google.com/a/nrschools.org/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=bnJzY2hvb2xzLm9yZ3xtcnMtZ3JpZmZpbi1zLXdlYi1wbGFjZXxneDo2NWYyYTdhODg5NmM5MTIy

The Pigman chapter 7
https://docs.google.com/a/nrschools.org/document/d/15lMFeMIfgnwXcZ0Y15u35mPUseZgfqTidQPohm9A8o4/edit

The Pigman chapter 8
https://docs.google.com/a/nrschools.org/document/d/1ydBWy49R0cPQ7XDJhb7ZDsEOC048uZtvPhPz5946Mh8/edit

Steve Lopez Column 11:  Mr. Ayers, recording artist

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/02/local/la-me-lopez3-2010feb03


Steve Lopez Column 12:  Hello Nathaniel:  Obama welcomes Mr. Ayers to D.C.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/28/local/la-me-0728-lopez-column-20100728

Homelessness Project Option Links for Part 1A

http://www.k12.wa.us/homelessed/assistanceact.aspx
http://ftp.serve.org/nche/downloads/briefs/reauthorization.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKinney%E2%80%93Vento_Homeless_Assistance_Act

Part 1B
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/526/homeless-facts.html

Introductory sentences for Soloist essays

1.  In the scene where Steve first meets Nathaniel, his preconceived notions about homeless and mentally ill people greatly affect his expectations for Nathaniel.

2.  Nathaniel tells Steve, "I've had  a few setbacks," and Steve's response is, "Me, too."  This dialogue is symbolically important.

3.  The filmmaker uses a montage of seemingly unrelated visual images when Nathaniel is playing or listening to music and these images have a symbolic and literal purpose.

4.  Nathaniel's mental illness affects his friendship with Steve a lot.

5.  Beethoven is used as a recurring symbol and he is a very important figure in Nathaniel's life.  

6.  Steve tells Nathaniel, "I want to write a column about how a guy like you winds up on the street."  Although this statement is simple, it is also very complex.
7.  Music meant a great deal to Nathaniel throughout his life.

8.  Steve's columns about Nathaniel touched many of his readers and moved them to offer to help Nathaniel in many ways.

9.  Steve's attitudes toward homeless and mentally ill people changed a great deal throughout the film.

10.  Homelessness and mental illness are explored at the personal and policy level in the film.  These two areas are related, but are also disconnected.

11.  Nathaniel's outburst in the film, when he attacks Steve, is significant to their friendship and causes Steve to change his behavior.  

Steve Lopez column 8:  The Best Present for Nathaniel:  a Future

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-me-lopez18dec18,0,4079408.column

Steve Lopez column 9:  Mr. Ayers Drives Toward a Mulligan

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez20apr20,0,2245471.column

Steve Lopez column 10:  Serenade in the Key of Glee

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jul/12/local/me-lopez12

Interview Example

New Richmond High School’s 2013 graduate, Kara Burns, is a well-rounded, driven young woman who said she naturally pushes herself to exceed.  Last year, Burns achieved the highest GPA average of the 2013 senior class and was titled valedictorian. Throughout her high school career, Burns said she has driven herself to extreme measures to achieve the the high goals that she had set for herself.  “Excelling is my expertise, which I believe will take me the farthest in life.”

For many individuals, motivation serves as a major obstacle, but not for Burns, who said that motivation has, for the most part , always come naturally to her.  “I believe it just developed over time. I believe that swimming impacted my drive the most, though.  It wasn't until I started swimming in grade school when I realized that I could excel at something.  It really made me competitive and driven.”

In order to be driven, one has to have something that pushes him or her to do the best that he or she possibly can.  For Burns, she said it is her desire to exceed. “My desire to exceed is my primary motivation.  I always push myself to do better, and ask myself, ‘Am I capable of going farther?’ I am always looking for ways to improve myself to be the very best that I can possibly be.  I am constantly looking for new challenges and setting higher goals for myself to achieve.  I aim to surpass my own, and others’ expectations.”

Burns has set numerous goals and challenges for herself, which she said she has successfully accomplished by staying strong and not giving up. “Some of my previous goals were making to districts in all four years of my high school swimming career.  I accomplished this by pushing myself to the maximum at practice and not giving up. Last year, my goal was to be valedictorian of my high school class. I undertook four AP classes, which involved countless hours of studying and homework. I had absolutely no spare time, but eventually I achieved my goal, and I was satisfied.”

Still driven and strong hearted, Burns said she continues to set high goals for herself to achieve while she is a student at The University of Cincinnati in pre-med track.  Today, her current goal is once again, a challenging one, but Burns has strong faith in herself. “My current goals right now is to maintain a 4.0 GPA in college in order to increase my chances to be accepted into a graduate program of my choice. I am currently studying very hard and devoting much of my time to school. My plans for the future are to be enrolled in a medical school to be well on the road to become a pediatrician.”

Burns’ father; John Burns, also has great hopes and dreams for Burns. ”My dreams for Kara are for her to do her best and be satisfied at whatever she chooses to do.  I have great faith in her and believe that she can do whatever she puts her mind to. I think that her goals are very ambitious, but attainable. Based on her motivation and drive, I believe that she is capable of achieving all of them.”

Burns said that she has a lot of supporters in her life, who do not ever let her give up on herself. Burns says that her parents are her number one fans, though, and guide her through stressful times. “They support me in whatever I do and don't let me give up. They tremendously help me out by allowing me to focus on my studies while at home, and are very understanding.”

Burns’ father has great faith in Burns and will continue to support her. “I believe that Kara does everything 110% and the amount of time that she puts into her goals clearly shows. She knows that her future will require a lot of time and effort. I try to help her out as much as I can by supporting her  financially, emotionally, and by supporting her needs.  I promote her ambitions as well, and am always willing to help her out.”

One might think that it would be easy for anyone to identify what made him or her to be so driven and motivated, but not for Burns. “Sometimes I don’t know why I aim so high. I can’t really explain it, I  just have a competitive spirit, it’s who I am.”

Burns’ father agreed. “Kara has always strived to be the best. I don't believe that we really enforced it on her, it just came naturally to her.”

Burns’ unique attribute is a very desirable quality, which will bring anyone far in life. Burns said that she believes that her high level of motivation not only affects her life, but the lives of others as well. “I feel like the most beneficial part of this quality is my ability to push not only myself, but other people as well, so that they can be the best that they can be by setting high goals for themselves. Although self motivation is not a problem for me, I know that it comes as a challenge for others, and I enjoy helping people aim for high goals. I continually motivated the members of my swim team to push themselves to their maximum in order to achieve their full potential. Sometimes when the practices would get though, people tended to get discouraged and give up, I continued to support them and told them to keep going; it may hurt now but surely it will pay off in the end.”

Burns’ words of wisdom to all are; “Believe in yourself, don't settle for anything less than your ultimate goal, work hard; it will pay off, and stick to the course, even when times get rough. Yes, there will be times when you will have to take little steps at a time because your ultimate goal may appear to be out of reach, but in reality it is possible.”

Burns believes that self-discipline is key to accomplishing goals. “You have to be able to keep yourself on track and focused.  You cannot let yourself give up when tasks begin to get difficult, you must push yourself to keep going. Some days, I felt like there just were not enough hours in the day to complete my school work; regardless, I trudged on and somehow worked through it.”

Burns said with this valuable attribute, come major disadvantages as well. She said being driven takes a lot of dedication and hard work, which does not leave her a lot of free time. “Unfortunately, with this quality, comes a lot of stress. It also restricts my available free time to  participate in social activities, which is sometimes just what I need to clear my mind and refocus. I try to allow a few hours for myself to go out on Friday and Saturday nights to spend with friends, but it is quite difficult to fit in.”

Stress is difficult to handle, said Burns, and is very easy to get caught up in. In her cramped days of studying, often a little break is a necessity for Burns to get her mind back in focus. “I put more pressure on myself than anyone else does because i am a perfectionist and will accept nothing less of myself.” When Burns cannot take the pressure any longer, she says her escape is exercising.  “Exercising is the only thing that keeps me sane! No matter the amount of work I do, I always find at least a half hour of my day to go out for a run. When I become overwhelmed, exercising helps me to refocus my mind and concentrate.”

Burns believes that if one wants to succeed at something, he or she has to be willing to give up a lot of time and put in a lot of effort. “Trying to be the best at anything involves an extreme amount of work. It’s almost an obsession which I can't help, it is just who I am. Yes, I do have to give up a lot; including time spent with friends and family, along with a clean room and sleep, but in the end, the feeling of satisfaction is well worth it!”

Steve Lopez column 7:  Stakes Are So High, It's Hard to Wait

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez30oct30,0,4408164.column

Steve Lopez Column 4, A New Stage for Homeless Musician
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-me-lopez26jun26,0,4074838.column

Steve Lopez Column 5, Vicious Circle of Hope, Despair
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-me-lopez7aug07,0,6572098.column

Steve Lopez Column 6, A Ray of Hope for Future Nathaniels
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez25sep25,0,7160686.column

Extra Credit Classical Music Quizzes!
You must do these in class and you must call me over to record a score.  You may earn up to 50 extra credit points.  

http://www.triviaplaza.com/classical-music-composer-quizzes/  

Steve Lopez Column 1:  Violinist Has the World on 2 Strings
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-me-lopez17apr17,0,470348.column

Steve Lopez Column 2:  A Cello Backdrop for Voices Inside
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-me-lopez8may08,0,1259093.column

Steve Lopez  Column 3:  A Twilight Concerto for Rats and Cello
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-me-lopez29may29,0,3353942.column

Sample character analysis; remember, this one has a couple of errors that I do not want you to repeat in your character analysis.
1.  It does not contain direct quotes from the text; your character analysis must contain at least three direct quotes from  the novel.
2.  It uses the word "I".  You are NOT permitted to use this word in your character analysis.  Simply comment on the character stating your opinions as facts and omitting the word "I".

http://eolit.hrw.com/hlla/writersmodel/pdf/W_S0702.pdf

The Pigman's Legacy, chapters 11-14

Chapter 11
https://365be106-a-0cd8c373-s-sites.googlegroups.com/a/nrschools.org/mrs-griffin-s-web-place/assignments/homeworkweekofaugust22-26/ch.%2011.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cpviL8b6PHdlL7XD_S0Yhppsl9YAfotCDhVcpHN1HkndyKCX-wQMA11iXAEUNN-Hl9n_ne-z58zjEgxbt6cWs63-hL4_1_jt0J0OqA8WXGagv5-r-4w5vaI3I41s3eRzH_VxAXyDIybVrsFg8LMAhpjBw5J54OGcL8h9B3ALwrtA_iMl_qKT7hGsa2fWxCK4GkJLax6vaZyzxiALLKgxt5B6zmhx8Xp_iuY5TKQnJsoa0WmL85L8odtQOeOlFk9SD6vnRGZqDfwlqHbWMvN4S8FLm8gHQ%3D%3D&attredirects=0

Chapter 12
https://365be106-a-0cd8c373-s-sites.googlegroups.com/a/nrschools.org/mrs-griffin-s-web-place/assignments/homeworkweekofaugust22-26/ch.%2012.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cqpiawjhApX4XH6u_fs1nnQwgkNi8loDSBNeyUX7SbvXoKw6SaLSkf2BL47ZKrSP19hwrYvUm3c7ZSKk87hx_VrM0n5dUZns1-w4ISjyx-CAYZ-A3hbLV1lk1JteWMFqFPmtAqFROuELLoQ92Xhz8SIlRi90bG6NgOtoJV5MBrbIFMdZSNH9QmN9qWrJ7t73nDFCaF6ceWvJSK-Vy0JuQ4NUd1qPSizvo8LUx4-LnXGKWjHw1iRiKpxk0rxPLOlgS1GhIEkzHUy0cvF2WGv3n-uEUYEaw%3D%3D&attredirects=0

Chapter 13
https://365be106-a-0cd8c373-s-sites.googlegroups.com/a/nrschools.org/mrs-griffin-s-web-place/assignments/homeworkweekofaugust22-26/ch.%2013.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cpbZ4tNSSRbucGSDSDigF9t8iafId1TXsRzpfLhM4iZtx8C3Hl16IQHKFWXFhdUfprxFA8NoRNtFgNMdLuDhNJ0HHcOujnD3c6O4cPLs4B82jpRN_8vVMoomMpHM357VDUIlqDubcosElGdbc8tnn_2pP2D64Qecaxm3HGABDOj5A1vN1miPoBlI_uhxYYnnnLB2yBVN4rMLGvU4CBkDY0Dq7_1HB0E-H4Xi_BErAGf_CC2jGJS91UrgrYWaDgKnzNESBQpKlV_J18L2r01r7wiTUaHGQ%3D%3D&attredirects=0

Chapter 14
https://365be106-a-0cd8c373-s-sites.googlegroups.com/a/nrschools.org/mrs-griffin-s-web-place/assignments/homeworkweekofaugust22-26/ch.%2014.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7coGsFRrn8vOS9W51KDo2vOHh3ejI_BIydrczdbJc4XUpeK4cSaafhspGl-R-HVPZW3wSsxOKQd7cnGuIPtqVXOXexq00bCo6tKSmgLcOJ2IYvK0AJwc82Sd_IEyIaBFmg1OXWM36rJpwohISaZr0G55xmsiOfCVvxZ0oQNqHolKFIMR0Tns_ar4U1vJFXEWfxSHJ8K_xYOY7kWMT_7TS1ei7HNf1CZs3xns4HPGRTfk8KNLoLwTLh3vtOUNhRUZD7XRtE5ubhsJ6bmdThLzPJsZyJgQiw%3D%3D&attredirects=0

The Pigman's Legacy, chapters 7-10

Chapter 7
https://365be106-a-0cd8c373-s-sites.googlegroups.com/a/nrschools.org/mrs-griffin-s-web-place/assignments/homeworkweekofaugust22-26/ch.%207.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cpMStuSfHorba2B2IAjP25SXFuUt0CoEPWlm_scoefHgdQgaEFzZVLdh43Qf8OBmH4YkLVUTTeFtipDc6wKzRyc7n4zM_DWq07CY7-m6YYtAyVOLP_xD9jP3NZZVaB7X3NfYKRzkcgxx61ijoGMXaUjrovJFLrV6W3eDaG9tw1LcxmAfIBzc25JpXucumVGffXQqI_q60SryZd9VVezAHgy6hT6aqKs_-rgKW0d_KxPShiz05VQb1Z8Iz37-xy32MxF0TdvW9zB1YE8ZJWaG_JYTOrE_w%3D%3D&attredirects=0


Chapter 8
https://365be106-a-0cd8c373-s-sites.googlegroups.com/a/nrschools.org/mrs-griffin-s-web-place/assignments/homeworkweekofaugust22-26/ch.%208.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cqv3Kky1su3LV23Yd1o9sSXIa2lYd4wG3tqJ7jcIGYkLgBbQFFtZ_qh_gyJMRP-30hXXbOY3e5JIydH2TbVrtdsvvXHTVoLz2t848EHGUkfbkdZ0gUeH4zaOokTnhVxg8HBzVHgXP0aLbcp9GgEvChr1pcFC8bnlGOu4gW60SCF8NowsEyeIAcnX-IRrJnpJqY9oXKcuOXxFFG2i7G3Hy36SfypNOsZKcpdhSXl3sHduQMr8fkN-f7OtF4ZUbeQuaizPSU7Dqvtmwm5O3CDgY7nV8gkbQ%3D%3D&attredirects=0


Chapter 9

https://docs.google.com/a/nrschools.org/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=bnJzY2hvb2xzLm9yZ3xtcnMtZ3JpZmZpbi1zLXdlYi1wbGFjZXxneDo1OTdkMTYxYjM1MWFkNWI

Chapter 10
https://docs.google.com/a/nrschools.org/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=bnJzY2hvb2xzLm9yZ3xtcnMtZ3JpZmZpbi1zLXdlYi1wbGFjZXxneDoyNDcwZDNjMTk0MjU3YTAx

More help for Greek and Latin root words
http://quizlet.com/11258465/greek-and-latin-root-words-flash-cards/

Greek and Latin Root Word Chart

Innocence Project research assignment

Sample student My Turn 1

   This will be my last column, in the last issue of the year so I wanted to do something a little different. For that reason I wanted to write about a more personal topic, and let you in on my life a little bit. This column is about overcoming hardships to get to where you want to be.  I have overcome all the obstacles in my life to get to where I am today, and know that I never have to look back. This is what I like to call my testimony.

   Most of my closet friends here know very little of my life that I left behind. Now I want to share it with anybody who cares to read it for the simple hope that it will light a candle in some unexpected person and give him or her hope; it is purely and hopefully meant to be inspirational.

   Up until the fourth grade, I had the perfect life, well, at least perfect for a nine year old. I had a lot of friends, I liked school at Monroe Elementary, my sister and brother were only mildly annoying, my best friend lived right next store, and I always had friends over because I was the kid with the big yard, the swing set, and all the new Barbies and girly movies. It’s easy enough to say that my perfect childhood stopped here.

   My parents began fighting uncontrollably and I even remember times when I had to take my siblings to the neighbors for dinner when things had become too bad, too often. Yet, I was still a child.  Did it make me sad to see my parents fight? Absolutely, but it was easy enough to jump on top of the monkey bars, swing, or jump on our four wheeler and get lost in the woods.

   I am sure you would have guessed that a separation was not far off, so we moved from our house, and my sanctuary in New Richmond, to a small town house in Amelia with my mom, while my dad moved around from place to place. Sometimes when we went to visit him he was at Grandma’s, Aunt Nicole and Uncle Mark’s, or sometimes it would be a friend of his that we did not know. None of this mattered to us, as long as we got to see our dad, and he never missed a visit.

   On the other hand we hated our new school and our new house. What we hated most were the people who mom brought home.  Some were strange men who stayed a night or a maybe a week, some were friends from her job at Golden Corral; when they came to stay they always stayed for weeks at a time, sometimes even months. We hated for her friends to come over because that meant that we couldn’t sleep with her in the only bed in the house. We were kicked out to camp on the floor with blankets and pillows, sometimes with her friends’ kids.

   One particular friend was Sue who had two boys, Patrick, who was my age, and Adam, who was two years younger than me but two years older than my brother. At first, it was fun having the boys around; it gave us someone to hang out with other than the kids in the complex. By this time, I was the full time mother, although I did not look at it like that. We spent many nights eating macaroni and cheese and fish sticks because I knew how to cook them the best. Most nights we ate Pb & j’s or a bowl of cereal, but we didn’t care about that. 

    I was in charge of giving the kids a bath and getting them ready for school. We were always on the go, swimming in a neighbor’s pool, playing tag, or beating each other at self made obstacle courses; all  the fun aspects of doing whatever we pleased while the adults were at work or sleeping or had “guests” over was irrelevant to us.

   The boys and Sue became permanent fixtures in our house, and sometimes I enjoyed it, but most of the time I didn’t. We had moved past that stage of being friends, we became enemies. I quickly realized that the more that they went to their dad’s, the meaner they would be become. It’s safe to say that the boys’ father should have been thrown in jail for child abuse and molestation. It’s even safer to say that the oldest carried some of the same traits and became “curious,” in ways that I personally hated. I never told anyone but my cousin and she said I was lying.   I guess I built a complex and never told any body about it again until one year at church camp, but that was only part of the story.  Maybe I just felt sorry because I knew their father was a really rotten man.

   My dad became very angry when he heard about the way we were behaving and getting away with what ever we pleased, so my mom got us a babysitter. Some babysitter she was; she got paid to watch us do exactly what we had been doing long before she ever came along. I still made dinners, only now I had two more plates to fix, one for her and one for her rotten boy friend.  He got “curious”, too, and I got crazy.

   One time I called the cops and tried to run away but the babysitter wouldn’t let me; she had unplugged the phone form the wall making it impossible for the cops to get back through. So they came out to investigate but I was locked in the restroom while she answered the door and told them of my ‘misbehaving’ and her boyfriend had long been gone. He never came back, which was an answer to my prayers, too bad he wasn’t the last.

   When my mom first started doing hard drugs it was not a surprise when we were evicted and I was living with my dad and grandparents. That lasted all of eleven months. We went back to New Richmond; my teachers once again liked me. I still remember Mrs. Paul. I even have a small yearbook picture of her in a diary tucked away that she traded me for one of mine. I was comfortable here, and although I was able to do a lot less and get away with little, it felt like home again.

   Then the worst happened. My dad disappeared, although this was the second time he had left but he came back that time after a month or two.  This time, it was at lot worse. He left with my Aunt Nicole.   Talk about breaking a lot of already broken hearts.   There were six children unable to put the shreds of their lives back together and one broken man who couldn’t understand his brother’s motives with his wife. That was the day after Christmas and it was short lived a holiday.

    For three months we were clueless to where they were; angry, hurt, but wanting things to be fixed more than anything. Then we were shipped of to Newport with my mom again. That was a slap in the face; even at our young age we knew that this was not a life for a child.

   Mom’s new roommate was named Brandy and she was a stripper whom we had known for quite some time; her son was 19 and weird. I remember he used to make me watch movies with him, movies I didn’t like and I know mom would have been angry. He said that his “curiosity” was normal, and if I ever told, no one would ever believe me anyway/ I never told. I acted out, yet I have never told anybody again about my painful secrets. Till this day I have never told anybody all my secrets, never until now.

   After a while my dad came back with my aunt at his side.  To top it all off, they moved in with us, our mom and her friends.  They lived upstairs, we lived downstairs. I was angry, stubborn, and hurt, and refused to speak to them. After living with someone you learn to give in, no matter how hard and hurtful it is.  I had a real hatred for my aunt and my cousins and uncle had the same kind of hatred for my dad. They got out of it;  I had to live with them and face it every day. My mom had started taking the rent money from my dad and buying drugs from the people at the bar she worked at. There would be days at a time I wouldn’t see her, and then she would show back up and act as if nothing was wrong. Soon she stopped coming back at all.

   I took to the life in the city, and I felt that I had to keep up with the older people I hung out with. That meant sneaking out just about every night and attending parties. I have seen things that I still cannot believe. My so called best friend jumped out of the car on the way to the party one night and beat this girl up and left her on the side walk in a fetal position, all for fun. She thought it was hilarious. I don’t think I will ever stop regretting sitting there and watching. There was never a party with out alcohol, and drugs, some worse than the others. I am glad to this day that drugs never became part of my experiences; I guess I was just a little smarter, plus, I had already lost my mother to them, not me, too. Depression was the way I lived my life, and I had suicidal thoughts and cuts to prove it. I took a lot of bad turns and walked down paths that no one should ever walk down.

   Then four years ago something amazing happened;  it was called Faith Chapel.  The pastor, Jamie Taylor, was my cousin and my grandparents took me whenever I was with them. I wavered in and out of the church life for a few years, never feeling like I had found my place. Although I drastically calmed down, I was still living with a lot of my old ways. It felt good to have someone to lean on, the church.  I had good friends who really cared but it was hard for me to leave the life behind that was hidden from all these people. I felt none of them really understood, in a way I still feel that way, but it’s okay because no one can never fully understand unless he or she has been in those shoes.

   Eventually everything fell into place, all that was left was to leave Newport schools and move in with the grandparents (by this time I had forgiven my dad and mostly forgiven my aunt.   It took five years but I still wanted to get out more than anything, this wasn’t my home).

   Things started slowly;  after years of begging my dad to transfer us to New Richmond,  he finally did my junior year.  Although many students take New Richmond for granted and can’t wait to get away,  I fought my whole life to come back. This was huge for me, it meant getting up at 5:30 every morning to get ready and drive to New Richmond and back to Newport, which was okay. It didn’t matter to me that I was nowhere near as popular here as I was there, the work was a lot harder and my honor roll grades and effort for Newport no longer worked, or that I lost a lot of friends in Newport.   I was back on track. I still had battles to fight, such as getting to church (my dad did everything in his power to keep us away) which had become my strong hold. God had become my stronghold and I wanted to be in His house every day all day. Then there was dealing with my mom being gone, but I had already won the largest battle. Senior year was the ultimate, I moved in with my grandparents in September and everything just felt right.   I had finally found my home again, no matter that it took nine years to do so.

   After I found my place, I started turning the bad into good.  My mom’s disappearance no longer held me back  nor was she an excuse for my failures, but she was the presence in my head pushing  me forward.  She had become my inspiration in a way I have never known. I knew that I wanted to become everything  that she was not. I was an overcomer.

   All the same that didn’t stop me from missing my mom.  I wanted someone to help me get ready for dances and braid my hair, someone to cheer me on, but that was no longer an anchor holding me back. It had been four years since we heard from her.  I mean, every once in a while we would get something in the mail where she had used our address, but that was it.

   In 2006 the woman that use to be the mother above all others reached an all time low, even in my eyes.  She was flashed across all the news stations for multiple reasons, among them she had stolen a cop car in Anderson township.  She got away, she was put on the Wheel of Justice, and became one of the most wanted women in Ohio.  Hey, at least we knew she was alive. Then she was flashed across the news again in April of 2009.  After six years of running, she has been caught. First, she will spend some time in jail in Tennessee, then she will be sent back here to do her time for her crimes in 2006. That’s what inspired me to write this;  a burden that I thought I let go of is just now being lifted. I hope that she will come out of jail the person that she used to be, but I am prepared if she doesn’t. I no longer feel like I have to hold things in that are painful.

   I have overcome, and I continue to do so each and every day. In August, I am off to college at Shawnee State University to become a child psychologist. I want to help the kids who have had a poor childhood.   I hope that I will be able to help them talk about their fears and leave them behind, instead of living in them every day. I have overcome and I want to continue to help others overcome for the rest of my life.

   When you look at me now, there maybe something that you can’t place, a past that you may not understand, nor would you have guessed. The simple fact is that I am a changed person, I am quiet when I used to be loud, happy when I use to be hurt, whole where I used to be empty. I honestly believe that I would never have found my place if I would not have kept fighting, but I overcame the odds, and I believe I have triumphed.

   The moral of my story in is that when you set your mind to something you have to press forward to achieve it, defeat all the odds and obstacles set before you. Have confidence in yourself when no one else can. Set your goal high and don’t you dare stop until you get there. Leave your past behind and set your future in front of you and you can achieve anything.

   Overcome!

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