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The Story of My Life: Kenzie VanDyck
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This book is dedicated to my family, most importantly my mom.
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Table of Contents Sports ...............................................................................................................................................5 Life in Wisconsin .............................................................................................................................6 My Neighborhood ............................................................................................................................7 My Name..........................................................................................................................................8 A Special Holiday ............................................................................................................................9 A Happy Time ................................................................................................................................10 A Special Family Member .............................................................................................................11 Advice I got from an Adult ............................................................................................................12 A Positive Story from School.........................................................................................................13 A Negative Story from School .......................................................................................................14
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Sports Best of times with my team One strike Winning isn’t always the answer Learning new skills is very important to succeed In the moment New places to visit for state every year Go West Salem High School Bowling
Hockey is my favorite winter sport to watch On the ice Cold temperatures in the ice rink Keep on playing to win the game Entertaining to watch Yelling and Shouting fans all the time
Baseball is my favorite summer sport to watch All in to win the game Strike out Entertaining to watch Brewers Always watching the game Left field Loud screaming fans
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Life in Wisconsin Wisconsin Winter Cold Frost Snow Snowy trees Icy roads Whipping wind Woooosh the sound of the wintery wind Breezy days Spring temperatures Rainy days Flowers Summer June Dairy Days Cows
Wisconsin Green Bay Packers Green Yellow Cheese Cheddar Heads Dairy State Badger State Wisconsin Badgers Madison Capital Big City Milwaukee Milwaukee Brewers Tan Blue summery skies Rolling hills Farm lands
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My Neighborhood My neighborhood is not really a neighborhood, we are a family. The neighborhood of Kens Lane is not a normal neighborhood, it’s a unique neighborhood. We come together for each other in hard times and laugh together in fun times. We spend lots of time together laughing at the crazy things we do on Kens Lane, because we are pranking people. Our fun started one summer on the 4th of July. One summer on the Fourth of July, one of my neighbors was remodeling her bathroom when we got the idea to put her old toilets in the other neighbors front yard while they were out fishing. When the neighbors returned they asked how they got there and I was thinking to myself maybe they walked themselves there. Ever since then, on someones birthday the other neighbors come together to decorate their yard and sometimes their cars too. One time while our neighbor was gone for her birthday we decorated her house with caution tape. When her house was covered in caution tape people were asking if something tragic had happened there while she was gone. For the other neighbor we decorated her yard with 40 christmas trees for her 40th birthday and put a fake for sale sign in her car with her phone number on the sign. My neighborhood is not the stereotypical neighborhood like on all the T.V shows or in movies. It is not the neighborhood where no one talks to each other either. My neighborhood is the neighborhood that is like a family, we come together in rough and fun times. We are a unique neighborhood.
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My Name My legal name MacKenzie Rae means, fire born, wise ruler’s son. My full name also is close to my personality, because I am wise. I have lots of knowledge of things. I am always told I am really smart. I refer to myself as school smart. The origin of my legal name also reflects on some of my looks, because MacKenzie is a Irish girl’s name. Most Irish people have red hair, and so do I, so the origin of my name also relates well. My name, Kenzie, is significant to me because the meaning, the fair one, fits me well. I like to treat and be treated fairly to and from everyone. I always try and do the right thing so everyone, including myself, are happy. When it comes to getting things from my family I am treated fairly as well. My names mean and show many things with my personality. The name MacKenzie Rae was given to me because my parents picked out names from a baby book, and since I was a girl I got my mom’s middle name. The first name they picked out was Ashley Rae. I was not named Ashley, because where my parents were living at the time a family moved into the house across the street and their daughter was named Ashley Rae just like I was going to be named. My parents then went through the baby books again and decided on MacKenzie Rae. My name was not a name of past family members, but it fits me well.
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A Special Holiday A special holiday for me is when I got the chance to go to Disney World during thanksgiving and march in the pre-electric parade on thanksgiving day, and the day following sing in the Candlelight Precessional with a guest appearance from Gena Davis. This holiday was very special because it is the only time in my long life I have had the chance to participate in these activities. Throughout the parade on thanksgiving day as we marched down the narrow street along with our percussionist doing their cadence. As the cadence went on you could hear the booms and bangs of the drum noises bouncing off the large buildings. When we got in front of Cinderella's castle is when I got the biggest smile on my face and I knew that this would be the only time I will have such an opportunity to march in this parade. Singing in the Candlelight Precessional was also an amazing experience because I got to meet many new people from other schools and and states throughout the United States. The people also got to sing with Gena Davis a actress who stared in the Stuart Little movies. She also narrated at the event. My choir was chosen to participate in both singing events on that night. Even though we had lots of fun at Universal Studios and Walt Disney World, the students at West Salem High School had to work super hard to be able to have the chance to participate in marching the parade and singing in the Candlelight Precessional. We had lots of fun and I am glad I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in these events.
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A Happy Time A happy time for me is when I am with my friends or family. The moments when I am with my friends or family are happy, because we all get along. We also have many times where we laughed at the silliest or stupidest things. I have many good times with my family and friends. When I am with my friends the fun moments are when we joke about things we may see or do. We mess around and do crazy things instead of sitting in front of the T.V. People may think me and my friends are crazy or sometimes weird, but that’s just how we have lots of fun. We do many things together like give each other silly makeovers, make funny videos of us doing crazy things or super skilled at dressing up funny. Another thing on my friend Madeline and I do is sit in my room and make silly noises like, bing, bang, boom, and crash. People always ask us why we sit there and make noises and act like were six, we do that so we aren’t ever bored or don’t get into trouble. My friends and I may be weird but we do not care we just like to have a good time together. When I am with my family we have a good time making jokes about many things. We joke about what some of the stupid things my brother does to try and and be funny, but most of the time he fails. One really exciting moment was when my aunt and uncle and cousin were in town from Oregon, for the holidays, we were playing charades at my grandmas. My brother chose the card where he had to act like he was giving birth to a baby. He had no idea how to do it, so he did it the way he thought people do it. I have many fun times with my family, also, which I when I am happy. My moments when I am happy are when I spend quality time with my friends and family. It’s even better when we laugh until our stomachs hurt or we are in tears. I love spending time with my family and friends It makes me so much happier.
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A Special Family Member A very special person in my family is my mom. She is the nicest person have met and will have known. Even though she is tough on me, I know she cares. I love my mom and I do not know what I would do without her. My mom is very special to be me, because she is the only parent figure I have to look up to, as my dad is not in the picture. She is always there for me. I am never afraid to tell her how I honestly think about something or if I just need to let something out that is bothering me. My mom helps me make the right choices in life. If she sees something that does not look right, whether it is if my friends may be doing something wrong, if I did something wrong, she will tell me. My mom and I have a close relationship. Some of my friends always ask why I am always with my mom. I reply that I have a close relationship that I never want to go away from or ever loose. If I did not have my mom in my life and had my dad I can see myself having a different view on things than I do now. I can see myself wanting a different future than being a pharmacist, than what I want to be now. I can also see myself being more lonely because I would have no mother figure. I will always need my mom in my life, because she is my special family member. My mom is a very special. I never ever want to lose her. Even though we may argue and disagree on things, that is just what makes our whole relationship a whole lot better. I love my mom, and she loves me to. She is my special family member.
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Advice I got from an Adult One time I got some very useful advice from an adult. An adult that I look up to a lot. I was told to always make the right decisions no matter what other people say. The advice I was given has helped me make the right decisions so I can have the future I dream of. Making the right choice I is the key to success in my eyes. I want to make the right decisions so I can achieve my future as being a pharmacist. I also want to be able to make the correct money decisions so I am not broke all the time, but I do not want to be super rich either. I want to be right in the middle. I also dream of going to UW-Madison after I finish the basics at UW-La Crosse. In order to achieve these goals I have to stay out of big time trouble. If that means losing friends, that I thought were good ones and finding new friends, that is what I am going to do. I will refuse to do drugs or drink alcohol. I will not do as little of thing as breaking GDL when I get my drivers license. My advice that I got from an adult was and is going to be very helpful for my future. I do not care what other people think when I make the right decision, and they do not. I want to always follow my dreams. All the advice I have received throughout my lifetime, I think making the right decisions is the best piece of advice I have ever received. I would like my future to be as big as the universe.
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A Positive Story from School A positive story that I have from school is when many people helped me out after I had surgery. Many of my friends and some peers that I did not talk to very much at the time helped me from class to class. I had to be especially careful too, my arm was very sensitive. I had to have a nerve moved in my elbow, as it was getting pinched. My doctor had to detach a muscle and move a very irritated nerve back to where it is supposed to be. I first found out that I needed surgery because my elbow would make a snapping noise. When my elbow made that noise it would hurt super bad in my upper arm and them begin to be all tingly in down the rest of my arm. In resolution, my doctor had to do an operation to fix this problem, because if I would have lived with my nerve there getting pinched too long I may have lost that nerve which could lead to major problems. When many of my positive peers helped me when I had surgery on my left elbow, I was very thankful they helped me carry all of my books and help me take notes, because I couldn’t write very well. Some my good friends didn’t want to see me fall down the stairs or drop all my book while going down the stairs and only have one arm to be able to pick them all up, because my books cannot carry themselves to my classes. I was very thankful when I had so many people helping me, because I was having a hard time last spring. I never would have thought that I would have so many people willing to help me as I did.
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A Negative Story from School A negative story I have overseen is bullying. Bullying is a very wrongful thing that many people do throughout the nation. The story that I have seen is about my brother. I never would have thought it would happen to my little brother, Kyle. When I found out my brother was being bullied by some of the kids in his class and other old kids I was very sad. I never wanted to see him without having many friends. Some of what he thought were his friends started one day to start picking on him because of his size, and what he looks like, and he always had trouble making friends. They always told him that he is never going to have friends. I told him that he will make new ones and he did. I am very glad that he did not turn to different ideas to solve his problems. I am very proud of him on how he dealt with his bulling situation. My brother, Kyle, is four years younger than I am and he likes to follow what I do sometimes. He annoys me when he wants to get on my nerves, and he is sometimes mean to me. Here and there I might get mad at him, but if something ever happened to him, I would be lost without him. I do not think I could go through life knowing that I have no younger brother to pull pranks on, pick on about some of the funny things he does. I love my brother so much and I want nothing to ever happen to him. My brother is my world.
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