All About the Big Orange Vegetable by Kelsey DeVasure

"The pumpkin my boyfriend and I carved"

            Most people have a childhood memory of carving a pumpkin. Whether that is with our parents, friends, or in our kindergarten class is unique to each person. It's just something that has always been done, and it is a Halloween tradition in our area. Though the pumpkins may have become more modern, like lighting your face up with colored glow sticks instead of candles, the idea is still the same.

            When the idea was first created it was in Scotland and Ireland, where they carved turnips. In England they carved beets. These early carvers would place their scary faced creations on their doorstep on “All Hallows Eve” to ward off evil spirits. When the tradition was started in America, thye decided to use the much larger and easier to sculpt pumpkin. Since then it has evolved into our Halloween, and now we do it to have fun with kids.

            Everyone starts out in the same way, you have to cut out the hole so you can get down and dirty. What five year old doesn't want to plunge their hands into the cold and gooey mess of pumpkin guts? Rhetorical question, of course. A pumpkin guts fight can often be the funnest part of your carving process. You have to be sure that you get all the guts out or you may be greeted by a rather interesting smell the next day. The hardest part is picking out the face that you want, do you want it to be happy, scary, sad, or not even a face but rather an artistic picture or design. The things that really creative people can do with this vegetable can be amazing, even doing script letters. But, you must be careful, because one wrong slice could leave your pumpkin permanently disfigured. I believe that this part can get rather nerve wracking. Finally you place your light inside and enjoy it in the cool autumn night.

            Most people know this simplistic process, and if you asked people to share their most creative pumpkin I bet you would be very surprised. Pumpkin carving is far more important than warding off evil spirits though, in modern times it is spending time with a small child, friend, family member, or whoever! 

My Summer by Luis Romero

I had a lot of fun over my summer.

To start of my summer I went to Georgia.When we got there it brought back a lot of memories.It was the first time I had been to Georgia in about two years.We went to my aunt's house were we stayed for two nights then brought back my grandma and my little brother and little sister. Before I left I went to go buy Nike Cortez. When we finally got back my sister helped us unload the car.We talked about what happened down in Georgia.We had a very long talk.

A month later it was my sisters graduation. Both of my sisters came down for graduation and i got to see my niece and two nephews. When graduation day came we were all ready we all got dressed up to go.  When the moment came for my sister to get on stage to graduate we weren't ready to yell so when she did pass it was late but we still congratulated her. After that my little sister kept yelling for every person that passed after her. Everyone was staring but she didn't stop. After graduation was over we went back home and celebrated.We stayed up till 5:00A.M. having fun and talking. The next day both of my sisters went back home. 

So I guess you can say I had a pretty epic summer.

This Summer by Morgan Andersen

Me and the Guys from OU

     This summer was pretty fun. We drove through many different states. I went to South Dakota and Oklahoma. 
     On the way to South Dakota we passed through Nebraska and others. On the trip to South Dakota we visited Mt. Rushmore, Devil's Tower in Wyoming, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Memorial, and something called Alpine Sides. 
     At Mt. Rushmore I learned a lot about the history of the mountain and stuff. I learned about it at a place called the Borglum memorial store, we walked through this building full of cool stuff with headphones on. The store had a recording of a tour guide, that would be why we wore headphones. It took sixteen hours to get to South Dakota. The hotel was pretty nice. 
     Also during the summer I woke up early. Everyday! Just to go to basketball, weights, and conditioning. It was fun sometimes, sometimes it was just a pain. But I made sure that when things got hard I kept going. 
     My basketball team and I went to Oklahoma on a trip. We stayed overnight for four nights on the OU campus. It was so tiring! By the end of the week I felt as if I was about to die. I made some new friends, including a lot of seniors. 
     Every night we would go to Kelsey's room and have "group talk" just because we could. At this team camp we played against other teams from all around the USA. It definitely benefited me well, I played JV the whole time and I feel like I got a lot better! A bunch of people were so tired and warned out that they started vomiting! Yum. I did not vomit. I was proud. The showers at in the dorms were very interesting! We stayed in the freshman dorms, the water pressure was horrible, and we had suite mates so four people trying to take a shower was complicated. 
     That is a little bit about my summer of 2012.

Freshman Year by Rhiannon Fuhrer

            Freshman year so far, for me, has been complicated. There is so much to learn. It's hard to keep up with things this year. To be honest I didn't expect for this year to be this hard. I thought it would be like all my other years, simple and got through them easily. Instead, this year has been my hardest. There's a lot that I don't understand and much to keep up with. 

Emily, Patricia and I

            I thought I was seriously going to cry. I have never gotten a "C" or below in any of my classes in the past, but I got some C's on a few of my assignments this year. I'm so stressed out, trying to get things figured out and accomplished. I try keeping things together and organized. I have to work really hard to succeed to my fullest this year.

           There's good things about this year too. For instance, friends. I'm glad I get to see most of my friends, even some that I didn't get to see last year very much. I'm really glad that I have classes and lunch with some of them. I've been friends with most of them since 4th grade. I'm so glad we've all stuck together. Well anyways, i'm really happy that I have them this year. Next to good grades, my friends are very important to me. They are a big part of making this year good. If I didn't have them, then I do not know how I could ever survive this year. 

            I'm going to be trying my hardest to accomplish and succeed all of my goals through out this school year. 

Fummer Vacation by Nash Praznik

Me Drinking Pipe Water

The summer of 2012 was rather uneventful for me.

The one thing fun I do have to write about is my trip to Michigan. My family goes to Michigan every fourth of July to my grandparent's house to visit all our family up there. Its always really fun to go because my family is always a joy to be around. The trip there we decided to drive during the wee hours of the night. My brother drove all night while I stayed up to keep him company.

There was a rather exciting thing that happened at about 2 in the morning on the interstate. We were driving along and all of the sudden we saw headlights coming at us on a one way highway. We almost had a head on collision with the I assume to be drunk driver coming at us at 70mph but he swerved at the very last second and we didn't get hit. My brother and I also got to see the sunrise as we were driving as you can see in the picture it was quite spectacular.

The Sunrise

The next event that I have to tell you is our trip to Autrain Falls while we were in Michigan. This place is pretty great its a river that has a bunch of drop off cliffs as it flows causing a lot of miniature waterfalls.

The picture you see there is me at just the right angle so it looks as though I'm drinking the water that is flowing out of the pipe pretty awesome I know. Other than that my summer was pretty boring, I hope you enjoy this wonderful tale of my summer vacation.

This Summer by Mitchell Lawson

This is my truck after the whole ordeal.
It was pretty scary.

This summer was fun but also scary at some points. My summer started out with spending a school day in the AG shop working to  finish end of the year projects. After school me and a buddy went to some ponds and fished. 

The next morning my summer took a turn for the worse. We got up to go fishing at Lambath Bridge. It was perfect morning not too hot and just a light breeze. We loaded up the truck to go fishing as we headed down the road the road started to kick up a lot of dust and the truck started to slide I said some words that I can not repeat considering this a school blog. 

Then there was aloud bang and the next was my buddy screaming get out and me yelling back I can't then he came back to the truck and pulled me out the truck. Once everything calmed down and Dad got there, me and my bud looked at each other all beaten and bloody and couldn't help but laugh we had just been through "Hell on Earth" and were still here the rest of the summer. 

He and I fished almost every weekend at that bridge and every time we pass those scarred up trees it reminds me how fast my life could have ended and all the things I would have lost. 

It makes me wonder why I'm still here. It reassured my faith and got me to take a look at my life choices. The wreck was a horrible tragedy but also I believe  a blessing in disguise.

Summer Time Jobs by Michael Plaster

Me in my suit shirt and tie

     This last summer I thought that I wouldn't work, really enjoy the last summer before adulthood. However, things changed around the beginning of the summer. I needed a job and I needed one fast. I asked my friend to help get me on board at Arby's.
     Soon I was working most nights down at Arbys. I got to thinking one day that since i was already awake during the day hat i would try to find a job during the day too. I went to my dad for help and he said that I could probably find a job down at Passport Transport.
    I went to work at Passport Transport as a collections agent. This was eye opening to me on the bahavior of adults. That's when I realized that adults enjoy a game of telephone tag. The plus side of the situation was that I had a good boss to work for.
    I really enjoyed working two jobs this summer. It was a joy getting to know so many wonderful people. I consider last summer one of my greatest learning experiences. 

To Be Jordan by Jordan Oberbeck

Me and my sister Britten

To be Jordan is to be many things. I am a writer, I am a singer, I am a dreamer. I am scared of many things. Sometimes I cry, sometimes about happy things. I am blessed.

I was born in March of 1995, in Lake of the Ozarks. My mother and father loved me, but not each other, as is the case of many.

I grew up wanting to be an artist, but never, and still never, knowing what kind. I loved music. Every kind of song that spoke words that touched me, I loved.

I loved many things. I loved the general, given things that are taken for granted, such as family, and friends, and my animals, but I also loved more. I loved color. I saw colors differently than people around me. They blended and moved to make totally different hues that most people could never see. I loved movies, and the way some of them brought feelings that real life didn’t.

I love who I am, and who I still strive to be. I love God and everything he has done for me. I love life, with all its beautiful bitterness and chaotic colors. This is me. 

We Ate McDonald’s for, like, the Entire Week by Kaylee Crawford

I tried real Japanese sushi, but I didn't like it!
I'm eating Edamame instead -- Japanese soybeans.

My biggest dream was fulfilled this summer -- visiting Japan. Japan is the country I have loved since I was a small child, and now that my sister lives there (she teaches English to middle school students), we took the chance to turn my dream into a reality. My mother and I flew across the world to visit her.

            The plane ride, close to 12 hours, was quite miserable. Mom and I both have problems sitting still for long periods of time, and the food we were saved made everything even worse. Luckily, it was worth it. Upon first setting eyes on the bright city lights of Tokyo, a sense of accomplishment filled my heart.

We found a really cool waterfall
in one of the parks!
It was a great place to take
a lot of pretty pictures.

            For the first few days of our week-long stay, us girls all stayed in Tokyo, visiting different districts each day. I have too hard of a time choosing a favorite district; I love them all so much! The Akihabara district held “Electric Town”, home to all things anime and cosplay. The Shinjuku district held lots of shops, like the one where I bought a replica of the ring from my favorite anime. The Harajuku district was also a favorite. Since that’s the fashion district, I bought dresses of my favorite Japanese street style -- Lolita!

In the city, wearing my new brand-name
Lolita dress and carrying around my alpaca.

For the rest of the week, we stayed in my sister’s apartment with her boyfriend. Since she lived in a much less busy part of the country, we got to look at lots of temples and parks. However, I’m more of an urban person, so I was happier when we visited a nearby city. We went to lots of places there: a few shops, a restaurant, a museum, and a couple of arcades as well. We played the famous U.F.O. Catchers, which are similar to American claw machines. We won my favorite “Arpakasso” plushies! Arpakasso is Japanese for alpaca, and those stuffed animals are so cute!  In total, we won seven of them. People stopped to watch and cheer us on, and while it was really silly, it was really fun as well. I was also wearing one of my new Lolita dresses, and lots of people were calling me “Kawaii,” which means cute. It made me want to live there even more.

This was one of the silly purikura pictures
I took with my sister. I
t's so silly and cute!

            Another thing I loved doing was taking Purikura -- Japanese photo booths. They blow up your eyes really big, like how they would look in an anime. I took so many because I loved taking them so much.

            When it was time to come back to America, I was a bit sad, but I believe I’ll get to visit Japan again. It’s my plan to live there after college, after all. This trip was just like a little taste of everything I’ll get to experience.