Lacey Maness
English 1-4th

You might think I’m just
A fourteen-year-old girl
With blonde hair
and green eyes
But I know I am more
way more than that
not a tornado or hurricane
not a rose or a flower
I’m an ocean wave
A low tide ocean wave
when I’m feeling blue
or in my mood
When I go walking in the rain listening to tear jerkers on my iPhone
I’m an ocean wave stagnant
not flowing
surfers fretting
wanting to catch waves
When the tide rises
my ocean wave is rolling in
The California surfers are ecstatic
and smile with boards in hand
I become a high rolling ocean wave
with energy and friction
amazing all with my motion in the ocean
I roll in full force
but ripple and twist
I’m a continuous motion
until I run out of steam
and that’s where my wave calms
the ocean generates waves over again
and again
and again
The blonde haired
green eyed girl
is an
ocean wave
a stagnant, amazing, continuous
ocean wave
all in one roll

Lacey Maness
English 1
January 8, 2015

Effects of Extreme Emotion

The scary feeling that rushes through the body as you’re walking up to the doors to the doors of the haunted house just waiting for something to jump out. Also like Jody in the “Red Pony” scared to death to find out if his pony will live through the terrible cold that Billy Buck was trying to save him from- that is getting worse. Fear can affect people’s lives by causing them to miss opportunities and it can also help motivate someone to do better and finish.
Fear taking over the body is easy for it to do.For example, American idol auditions can cause someone to stress out someone so much that when the audition comes and they are in front of the judges, they’re overwhelmed with nervousness, stress, and mental toughness.To the point that they’re frozen and can’t move or even cause them to have an anxiety attack. That’s a big life changing opportunity that they just missed out on. In stressful situations fear tries to take over the body and mess with the mind causing it to miss out on opportunities.
In addition, fear can also be a motivator, such as being in the state volleyball 2a championship game. If a team is scared of losing to their opponent they might as well just go home now because “you have to believe, in order to succeed.” In that situation you have to want it to win it, and really want it bad. Fear causes mental breakdowns even when we can push through the block of ice and achieve our goals in order to be successful.
That feeling of fear that takes over the body before walking through the haunted house can either take over your body or cause you to turn right back around or it can motivate you to walk through and finish what you’ve started and be great at it.

Lacey Maness
English I
02/10/15
Cell Phone Effects
14 and 1/2 hours and we finally arrived to Orlando, Florida to visit Walt Disney World. As soon as Dad opens the hotel door, everyone runs in immediately to find the plug. Because we are horrified by the blinking 1% sign. Cell phones have contributed to or everyday lives in both positive and negative ways. Many people’s lives have been affected by cell phone use either by texting and driving fatalities or cell phone’s becoming a major distraction at school or in the workplace.
Beep!Beep!Cecilia’s phone buzzes with 12 twitter notifications.For example, social media has been a great factor on teenagers especially causing a distraction at school and in the workplace with likes, retweets and mentions on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. The constant gossip or selfies from the girl that’s not necessarily part of your “circle.” Cell phones have become a major distraction on many teenagers, because it’s always easy to reach or in the palm of our hands, which makes it easier to get distracted from studying, working or the bigger picture the education that’s being built. Texting on the other hand also has a negative impact at school making it easier to cheat by texting your “homie” for homework or test answers. Cheating the way to the diploma that students should be working for to get out of this place in four years. Cell phones have created many distractions in school, workplace and family time such as vacations. Cecilia and her family went to Disney World and the first thing they wanted to do was charge their phones instead of spending time at Disney.
Claudia and Jack on their way to a party and BZZ! The vibration of the text message goes off, of course no questions asked Jack reaches for his cell phone to unlock it and they’re suddenly upside down in a creek bed. Jack read his last text message that day and the fatality of Claudia and Jack is another horrible distraction and a reason cell phones have become dangerous “creatures.” For example, Statistics show, nearly 3,000 teenagers die every year due to texting and driving and more than 50% admit to doing so. According to DPS records. Teenagers benefit absolutely nothing from from texting and driving or in all just having cell phones around. Possibly reading/sending the last text message such as Claudia and Jack realizing the dangers of cell phones that have been established.
The number of deaths caused by texting and driving and the distractions that have been brought along to society is outrageous. The world shouldn’t revolve around the scary 1% sign and possibly sending the last text message. Teenagers should be able to enjoy life without a rectangular figure in their pocket 24/7. Cell phones have affected teenagers in many negative ways with the constant twitter updates and the number of selfie likes. The dangers that cell phones have caused on society has taken a huge turn for the worse.

Lacey Maness
English 1
April 10, 2015
The Dangers or Benefits of Extracurricular Activities

From volleyball practice to softball practice, to cheer and on top of that seven hours of school? There’s barely enough time to stop and breathe, much less worry about hours of homework. Even though these after school activities take up so much time, there is still education on the line that needs to be worried about. Extra curricular activities harm students in improving their education and can cause physical harm to their body.
All of these practices after school on top of high school, homework, trying to advance to the next grade and graduation. For example, school for seven hours plus volleyball, softball and cheer that’s an extra five hours added to a regular school day. That’s outrageous! Nearly a fourteen hour day plus hours and hours of homework for English, algebra and biology. There’s barely enough time to stop and take a breath between practices, much less spend all these extra hours drowning in homework and trying to keep grades up just to keep a smile on mom and dads face. Choosing just a few extra curricular activities instead of 4 and 5 can help reduce the stress overload. And to help keep a steady focus on passing all of the main course classes, graduating high school, and being happy.
Extra curricular activities can also cause physical harm to a young person’s body. Stress fractures, pulled muscles and broken bones is happening more often than it should in young people by too much stress being applied to a growing body. Five extra hours of stress being applied to muscles isn’t much help either. Young teenagers should not be applying this much harm to their bodies, because their bodies aren’t even done growing yet, pulling muscles and breaking bones is slowing that process down. Without several extra curricular activities causing so much harm to the body, teenagers bodies could make healthier impacts on their lives.
Therefore, extra curricular activities harm students in education and physically hurting their brains and bodies. Extra curricular activities harm students in many ways that can influence to lack of success