By: Nora Meyer
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New Beginnings Nora Meyer
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Dedicated to my precious sister Anessa
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Table of Contents
My Name ................................................................................................................................................................................................................5 Life in Wisconsin ................................................................................................................................................................................................6 My Favorite Toys ................................................................................................................................................................................................7 A Special Holiday .............................................................................................................................................................................................8 The Big Game ......................................................................................................................................................................................................9 A Happy Time ....................................................................................................................................................................................................10 Advice from an Adult .......................................................................................................................................................................................11 A Time I got in Trouble ..................................................................................................................................................................................12 My Neighborhood ............................................................................................................................................................................................13 A New Beginning .............................................................................................................................................................................................14
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My Name
My name has 32 forms and is used in 12 different languages, but the exact origin of Nora is unclear. Some languages meaning honor and others meaning bright light. I guess that fits me well. In a sea full of brothers I am a bright light, a sense of relief for my mom. It is like the color gold, bold and straightforward.
It was my great-grandmother’s name, and now it is mine. She was a fighter till the end. She
never gave up, wouldn’t settle for anything but the best, and always wanted to make others happy. Nora Bridget Gilligan. I hope I can live up to the name; I couldn’t imagine being anything else; I would feel out of place.
Nobody ever butchers my name. There is one way to say it, not a long version, not a short
version, just Nora. There isn’t a way to get around it, just Nora. It’s everything you see, no less no more. I don’t always like it that way, I wish there was a twist, maybe something hidden, but nope, can’t hide anything, you get what you see, just Nora.
My mom was going to name me Kelly, but I just cant see it. I don’t even know a blonde Kelly; it
just doesn’t fit! I have always wondered if I had a different name, would I still be the same person? I
wouldn’t change my name; it means a lot to my great-grandmother, and gives me a challenge to live up to my name. Be a bright light, be honored.
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Life in W!consin Country Beauty
Seasons Snow Cold
Goose bumps Exciting
Vacation Beach Tan
Summer
Outdoors Life in W!consin Madison Bucky
College
New beginning New friends
New memories
Laughter
Sleep overs
Late nights
Bright lights
Tired mornings
School
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My Favo"te Toys My mom always talked about her fisher price toys that her and her sister played with all the
time: the doll house, the barn, the schoolhouse, her Weebles tree house. If you ask me, they pale in
comparison to my toys. The Littlest Pet Shop toys are the best! Variety, variety, variety, there were
dogs, cats, monkeys, parrots, penguins, hamsters to many to name. Not only did they come in different sizes and colors, they came in different textures too.
I had so many I was like a biologist numbering and categorizing each animal. It was so much
work I had to enlist my little brother, Mac, to help me complete the job. After that we were able to play with each animal in the own habitat. The poodles and other dogs had a beauty shop, the hamsters and
other rodents had tunnels and wheels to keep them busy. When my toys would become sick or under the whether I would take them to the special animal pet clinic to bandage them up and make them feel all better.
After being a good girl my mom would take me to get a new pet. There were so many animals to
choose from, it was so hard to pick. One day I went to look for the elusive horse, to my horror, The
Littlest Pet Shop franchise had changed, the animals now wore make-up and had sparkles and stars all
over there face. Really?! Who would want those toys, certainly not me! This was the end of a love affair with my beloved toys.
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A Special Holiday
Every year we gather to be thankful for what we have and spend time with our family. We
gather to take a break from our busy lives and just slow down. We gather to realize what we do have
and not what we don’t have. We gather to remember that even when our friends let us down our family will be there for us.
My dad has me for thanks giving. All 48 first cousins, 3 second cousins, 11 uncles, and 10
aunts gather at my Aunt Heidy’s house, up on top of the hill of 2nd and Pineview . We sit at three huge tables, like they would sit at for a royal dinner or medieval gathering.There is an abundance of food, we could feed the whole town. Everyone brings something, usually homemade. Recipes are used that have
been passed down from generation to generation. I can still smell the freshly mashed potatoes, and warm
aroma of grandmas stuffing. Lets be honest, we all know what the best part! Pie, pie, pie! I can never get enough pie! We have a whole table set aside for pie, and it seems no matter how full you are, how plump your belly is, you always have room for pie!
Every year we gather to be thankful for what we have and spend time with our family. We
gather to take a break from our busy lives and just slow down. We gather to realize what we do have
and not what we don’t have. We gather to remember that even when our friends let us down our family will be there for us. I love Thanksgiving, and I love my family!
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#e Big Game Two sets down one to go. We need to play as a team. Even if you are tired think long and hard
before you decide to give up. If we win this we will advance as a team, and if we loose we will fall as a team, but no matter what happens we are still a team. Now get your heads in the Game and take this one home! Family on three. One. Two. Three. Family!
This is the game that would decide our fate. We had won the first two matches, they had won
the second two and this was the deciding game to 15 points. The fans were all crossing there fingers and grinding their teeth that the team that they were rooting for would pull through and win. The
bleachers were rumbling from the student sections, pumping up there teams. I couldn’t even hear myself think. The smell of freshly popped popcorn was in the air and the game faces were on. The difference
between us and them was they were playing as a team and having fun. We had that all season, and at the time when we needed it the most it wasn’t there. We trained and conditioned probably harder than most of the other teams so playing 5 games was no problem, at this point it was all a mind game.
Nobody was talking, we lacked a leader, we lost hope. We could have creamed them but instead we were thinking of ourselves and yelling at each other. We were not thinking about others and playing as a team. I was up to serve. Score: 11 to 13, we were losing.
Ace!!! I was pumped, we regained hope! Here we go 12 to 13, 2 points to go. Ace!!! Our team
was starting to come together again! 13 to 13, we got this. I served again they passed it up and put it down, it came right to me, but the nerves got the best of me and I shanked it. From that point on we
played as a team, we tried our best, gave it our all we went back and forth smashing the ball on there
side, and getting it smashed on our side. After 15 you and to win by two. The final score 20 to 22. If
we would have just played as a team from the beginning. We learned something that day, and believe me next year we are going to be coming twice as strong.
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A Ha$y Time
Summer is a time where I have no worries and can just relax. A time to catch up with friends
and family for more than just an hour after school. Summer is a time where I don’t have to see people
that bring me down or put me in bad mood. I can have a ton of fun with the people that mean the most to me. I get to meet new people in the summer and I love that. Make new memories and remember the old ones.
Summer is yellow. It lights up your world, and turns you tan. Summer is the cold water that hits
you when you are thrown off a tube into the sparkle of the water. Summer is the sleepless nights, and
the long talks. Summer is the birds chirping and the cute old couples going for walks. Summer takes care of me, and I make sure not to waste it or take it for granted.
We are all friends in summer. Nobody cares who you hung out with that year or who you are
going to hangout with when school starts, its about living in that moment and being able to step out of your comfort zone to try something new. I get to make money in the summer, it’s nice to be able to
provide for my self, it makes you appreciate things more if you work for them. I don’t want to grow up. As much as we say we hate being in high school, I bet most of us are really going to miss it.
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Advice from an adult Care about your friends Care about your family Take care of yourself
Advice from an adult It won’t be easy
It might even get harder Keep pushing forward
Advice from an adult Do not waste your gifts
Be thankful you are healthy
Trust God through it all
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A Time I Got In Tr%ble
It was my first year of multiage, first grade, I had an amazing teacher, Mrs. Jones, and a fun
class! One sunny day in may I was out to recesses, right before lunch, minding my own business and
playing with my best friend Tristine. We were up on the hill, feeling like we were on the top of the world,
playing cats like we did every other recesses. Nothing seemed different that day, we continued like usual to stampede in like a herd of buffalo after the bell rang. We would try to sneak past the playground aid
that made us wash our grimy hands, so we could be first in line to lunch. Of course we were caught and had to go back to wash our hands which put us farther back in the line. To my surprise the counselor tapped me on the back, I turned around and he didn’t seem very happy, he said in a very stern and serious tone that after I get my lunch I should report immediately to his room. As he walked away I
instantly tried to think of anything I possibly could have done wrong and couldn’t think of anything.
After getting my lunch and walking down the hall to get to his office I slowly open the door. He
looks at me and tells me to sit down in the chair across from him. As this point I’m not really hungry
anymore so I just set my food on the table beside me. The lights are dim and there is only one lamp on. It makes me think of the interrogation rooms they have on all the CSI shows I watch with my mom. The
first thing he asks me is what I did at recesses that day, so I tell him. He says he doesn’t believe me, and says he thinks that I was bullying this younger girl, and spit in her hair. I try to tell him I didn’t, but he
says the girl came in crying, and even pointed me out to him, so he is sure it was me. He proceeded to make my call my mom, and at this point I was bawling, and tell her that I spit all over this girls hair.
When I came home she didn’t really say anything about it so I didn’t bring it up. It wasn’t till about three years ago when I told her I never did that, and I didn’t even know who this girl was. I have never like counselors since than.
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My Neighborhood
Waterloo Heights was 27 children, 12 trees, 6 houses. It was perfect. That was all that
mattered. We all have so many memories. We would go from door to door ring ring ringing everyones door bells asking if they could come and play a new game we made up that day. Our backyards all
flowed together making a play area as big as a football field. There was no yours or mine it was all just ours. When we would play ours games not only would we have to dodge the ball or a friend but watch out for all the land mines the dogs left us the night before.
Sprinklers, baby pools and slip and slides galore, it seemed to be the Noah’s Ark of West Salem.
When we heard the far off chimes we knew to take a break and run to find our parents to beg for a
dollar to be the first in line to get a tasty treat from the ice cream man. Summer would soon fade which
would leave us with fall. The nights would become cool and crisp, perfect for gathering around a fire. We never got tired of roasting marshmallows or cooking hot dogs over the smoldering embers. The dads
always had a good story whether it would give us or good laugh or keep us from sleeping that night we enjoyed them all.
Things always change and our neighborhood was no exception. One by on the kids matured, the
games seemed foolish. New chapters began and families moved. Waterloo Heights is 5 children, 2 trees, 1 house.
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A New Beginning
My precious sister came into the world on October 2nd, 2009. She means the world to me.
Even when I have had a rough day at school, or I’m just stressed out, she can always put me in a good mood. I can never be mad at her for more than five minutes, she just gets you with her big brown eyes and her ear to ear smile. I always wanted a big sister, someone to show me the ropes and someone I
could tell anything to. Don’t get me wrong I liked playing football with the boys, but sometimes you just need that time to vent and get stuff off your chest.
My mom knew how much having a sister meant to me, so she let me pick out her first name. I
believe your name has something to do with who you are, and I wanted to be careful in choosing the
right one. I didn’t want to name her anything that was too long, or hard to say or spell because I didn’t want her to be that kid in class where she memorizes where her name falls on the attendance list and
when the teacher gets to her name and pauses have to help the teacher pronounce it. I also didn’t want to name her after anyone I know, where when I would say her name I would just cringe. I thought long
and hard about this, I came up with 80 names and finally picked Anessa. The only other Anessa I know is amazing, and a great role model. I hope Anessa likes her name and I’m proud to say I’m her sister.
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