Student’s Writings

Courage by Madison Hansel

October 13, 2023

The assignment: COURAGE.

Madison reminds us that courage is not just about heroic events but also everyday life challenges.

Courage is needed to conquer challenges big and small. When I first came to TCS, I was nervous and fearful of the unknown. I was scared to be in a new environment and exposed to things I wasn’t used to. I needed help to overcome my anxiety and fear of the unknown, and especially to present in Creative Writing class.

I don’t know why but just the thought of going up in front of the class made my heart beat 10 times faster. I needed courage and a lot of help from Mr. Tom and Mr. Don. I remember crying the first time I had to present. I didn’t cry when I presented, but a few minutes before my eyes got a little wet.

When I got up there my whole body felt hot. My hands were sweaty and my voice was shaky. That first time was a rough one. After that though, it became easier and easier for me to go up and present. Also, when I first did TCS News and had to sit in front of that ipad recording me, I was super nervous. I was scared of messing up or it not turning out good. It was fine though.

I tend to make a big deal out of small things. I still get anxiety speaking sometimes, but other times I am very courageous and can’t shut up. It depends on my environment, my mood, and energy that day.

Sometimes I even get nervous at little things like ordering food myself. But then there are times where I can do anything, and no one can tell me otherwise. I could talk to a group of strangers and be completely fine.

I believe that fear triggers courage. Standing up for yourself can come from fear. Fear of the hurtful or untrue things being said can give you the courage to speak up for yourself and others.

Trying new things is also scary but it can be fun. You are scared of the unknown but excited for the experience. People who don’t have a lot of courage can have less different experiences because they are too afraid of putting themselves out there, trying new things, or pushing themselves.

Courage involves your attitude and your spirit. If you are always negative and look at the worst side of things, then you need some courage. Courage doesn’t always just come from within you. It can come from others around you, like Mr. Tom and Mr. Don giving me the push I needed to go up and present my writing. For News, having a good partner the first time who wasn’t judgmental and had done multiple broadcasts made me a little less scared of messing up.

It takes courage to not give up, which is one of the most important things. Don’t give up. Once you have started something, finish it fully.

Madison Hansel

October 13, 2023

Alice in Wonderland by Kennedy Lewis

by Tom

Student's Writings

October 6, 2023

The assignment: FAIRY TALES RECONSIDERED.

Kennedy’s back story for Alice suggests a less-than-wonderful Wonderland.

My name is Rita. I’m a 32-year-old woman.

We’ve all watched “Alice in Wonderland” at one point in life, right? What am I saying. Of course, we have! Everyone remembers the inquisitive little girl, with golden blonde hair, bright blue eyes and that damn blue dress.

Although it may be hard to believe, I was once that little girl. I once wore that blue dress, my messy hair was all gold and pretty then, too. Nobody could take their eyes off me for even a second. I was the talk of the town, or I guess the movie set.

I remember so clearly the day I was picked for the role. I was 7 years old. The exact day it happened, November of 1958, my mother basically sold me off for Hollywood money.

I had just woken up on the same bug infested mattress I slept on for most of my life, when my mother suddenly burst into my room. She packed all my clothes into a tiny K-mart bag and told me to get my nice clothes on, which could be compared to a yellow shower curtain.

I asked ‘why?’ She snapped at me “Get your damn clothes on and keep that mouth shut.” I didn’t ask any more questions and slipped into my dress. If you knew one thing about my mother, it was that she had a bad temper.

Kennedy Lewis

October 12, 2023

Is It Real? by Ruth Rivas

by Tom

Student's Writings

October 6, 2023

The assignment: FAIRY TALES RECONSIDERED.

Ruth’s twist on Goldilocks might just keep you awake tonight.

I wake up and open my eyes. Normally, I would see darkness, feel my comfortable bed, and hear my loud air conditioner…but not this time.

I woke up in an uncomfortable place and position. Instead of hearing my AC, I hear birds chirping and I see trees above me. I sit up and look at my surroundings. Where am I?

I decide to take a look around and, as I’m walking, I see a massive house made out of wood. It seemed familiar, but I just couldn’t pinpoint it because I mean, I simply didn’t know where I was. I take a few steps closer to the odd-looking house and peek through a window. There was nobody inside so I walked around the outside of the house to inspect it. I don’t see any suspicious items, but when I go up to the porch to open the door to the house, I hear voices. I quickly hide behind a large couch on the porch and hear footsteps getting louder and louder with the voices also getting louder and closer.

After a while, people appear and open the door to “their” house (I assume). My eyes widen. There are three different-sized bears with one little girl standing behind them. She has shiny, dirty, blonde hair in two messy buns and seems to be half the size of the smallest bear, and just like an ant compared to the other two bears in front of her. I see them walk into the house and I notice something that feels odd. They all had a small silver item in the back of their necks.

I then realized that I was in the story of Goldi and the Three Bears. I couldn’t make out what it was, but I felt uneasy. I waited a while before going to the window to look into the house. I watched their every move for what felt like an hour. The whole time everything felt suspicious and creepy. There’s tension in the air. Suddenly, my eyes widen. The silver item I saw earlier on the back of everyone’s neck is sliding down their backs.

My face is filled with horror as one human steps out of each bear costume. I thought it was impossible for my eyes to widen further but I was wrong. My eyes feel like they’re about to fall out when I see a bear crawl out of the little girl’s costume. This story was a lie!

I look again and instantly regret my decision. There are three brown-haired

humans; one tall man with dark brown eyes and hair, a less, tall woman with black hair and hazel eyes, and a young ten year old looking boy with brown hair and hazel eyes. But what really pushed me over the edge was the bear standing on its hind legs. It had blonde colored hair with white eyes. They all creeply grinned at me and started running towards me.

As I feel myself scream, I see black. I instantly open my eyes and wake up in my room and on my comfortable, soft bed. I realized that what I had seen was just a nightmare! I take a deep breath as I turn on my television and wonder about who the people in my nightmare were and why they were there. That breath of air was soon taken out of me as I saw news of a family that had been slaughtered years ago and whose bodies were just recently found in an abandoned house in the middle of the woods.

Shock and terror fill my body once more as I realize that the family that had been found, is the family that had been in my nightmare.

Ruth Rivas

October 6, 2023

Grandma’s House by Quinn Guilfoyle

by Tom

Student's Writings

September 29, 2023

The students were tasked to write a story about the loss of one of their five senses.

QUINN noted the pros and cons of her loss of SMELL, and discovered that her Grandma has quite the sense of humor.

Grandma’s House

“ACHOO!” I sneezed loudly. My brother exclaims, “Gross!”. We are in the car on the way to our grandmother’s house. I have the worst stuffy nose ever! Why did I have to get a dog? I thought to myself. I could’ve gotten a cat, or maybe a goldfish! We finally arrive at my grandma’s house and unload the car. As I’m dragging my bag into the living room I notice something. It doesn’t smell like snickerdoodles! Grandma always makes us snickerdoodles when we come over. I put my bag down and go into the kitchen. “Hey, Grandma, why doesn’t it smell like…”, I pause and look up to see Grandma taking the cookies out of the oven. My Grandma says, “What were you saying, sweetie?”. “It’s nothing.” I say in response. She shrugs and asks me if I’d like a cookie once they’ve cooled down. I, of course, say yes.

After thoroughly enjoying some cookies, I head upstairs with my bag and enter the guest bedroom. I was expecting the intense aroma of my grandma’s air freshener but I couldn’t smell that either. I’ve never actually slept in the guest bedroom because of the smell keeping me up. Today, however, I unpacked my bag and jumped onto one of the beds. It was so comfortable! My brother walks in and groans. He pinches his nose and says, “How can you handle the smell, it’s awful! I think I’m starting to get a headache.” I responded by telling him, “I guess my stuffy nose has some benefits.” He groans again before running out of the room and going to sleep on the couch. I fell asleep shortly after.

I wake up the next morning feeling so refreshed, despite still having a stuffy nose. The bed was seriously magical. I was disappointed that I couldn’t smell my grandmother’s signature breakfast of bacon, eggs, and blueberry pancakes. I get dressed and head downstairs. My moms says to me, “Aw, you look nice today!” I am about to say thank you when I sneeze. She makes a shocked face. I say, “Thanks but, how am I supposed to look cute when I can’t stop sneezing!” She laughs and I go into the kitchen for my breakfast. My grandma starts making me a plate when she says, “What took you so long to come down? You’re usually awake as soon as the bacon gets cooked.” I sigh and say, “I couldn’t smell it. I have a terrible stuffy nose.” Then I sneeze again. She laughs and says, “Why didn’t you tell me? I’ll make you something to get rid of it.” She takes out a tea bag and pours water over it in my favorite mug of hers. I let it steep and I ask her what flavor it is. She tells me it’s ginger tea. I drink it and, surely enough, my stuffy nose magically goes away. “Thank you!” I exclaim before running up to my grandma and hugging her. As soon as I hugged her, I could smell her strong perfume. I could hardly breathe! We stop hugging and eat breakfast.

Around noon my mother tells my brother and I that it’s time to go home. I go upstairs to pack my bag. I walked into the room and immediately groaned loudly. I could smell the air freshener now! I run in like the room is on fire and quickly pack my bag. I headed back downstairs to say goodbye. As I’m hugging my grandma again, I make sure to tell her to get rid of the air freshener. She tells me, “Oh sweetie, I can’t. It’s covering the stench of a dead body!” She winks at me and we all laugh. On the way home, I roll down the window and smell all of the wonderfulness of nature. As I took in one more whiff, I felt a sneeze coming. Not again!

Quinn Guilfoyle

September 22, 2023

4 Senses by Ethan Jobita Jemadari

by Tom

Student's Writings

September 29, 2023

The students were tasked to write a story about the loss of one of their five senses.

ETHAN used his loss of SIGHT to remind us all to count our blessings.

4 Senses

Today was the day when everything that could go wrong went wrong . I lost one of my senses. I lost my sense of Sight. I could not see anything. All I could see was darkness. My life doesn’t feel the same anymore. I feel hopeless . It feels like I am just nothing without my eyes. All I do is sit in my room, right by the window and just listen to the sweet sound of birds chirping, and the leaves moving.

I really do wish that God would take one of my other senses away instead of my sight. But you know what? Everything happens for a reason. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to be a football player, or a business owner. Maybe I was just supposed to a blind man who goes around the neighborhood telling his story to different people to tell them to never take life for granted.

Ethan. Jobita Jemadari

September 22, 2023

4 Senses by Rhys Guilfoyle

by Tom

Student's Writings

September 29, 2023

The students were tasked to write a story about the loss of one of their five senses.

RHYS turned his loss of TASTE into a championship-winning advantage at Carolina’s annual Hot Pepper Eating Challenge.

4 Senses

Chicken noodle soup… The pulled chicken and vegetables soaked in broth… I would hate to miss the taste of it. I put my lips to the hot bowl and slurp up some of the broth.

“Owwwwwwwww!” I scream. My tongue is on fire. I wait a few minutes for the soup to cool. Huh, I don’t taste anything? I must’ve screwed up the recipe.

“Dinner!” my mom yells.

I run downstairs and see glorious pasta bolognese. The creamy tomato sauce paired with ground italian sausage. I take the first bite and don’t taste anything.

“Ma, this doesn’t taste like anything.”

“I made it how I always make it.” my mom replied.

“I couldn’t taste my soup and now this. What’s going on?” I said.

My mom grabbed a piece of garlic bread. The end piece, the best piece. I took a bite..

Nothing.

“I don’t taste it.” I said.

“Seems like you lost your sense of taste, we gotta see a doctor.” my mom said.

We ran through a couple tests and the doctor broke the bad news.

“Son, you lost your sense of taste.” the doctor said.

“This can’t be true. I can’t eat burgers, pasta, or broccoli anymore!” I yelled in agony.

“Listen, a big part of taste is your smell, and you still have that. You just can’t taste anything sweet, sour, or salty.” the doctor answered.

All the foods I once loved are gross. Yogurt is like slime in your mouth and eggs are squishy and gross. Pizza for breakfast and breakfast for dinner don’t hit the same anymore. The one thing I can still eat is spicy foods. I pair spice with everything. I eat it with cereal and even ice cream.

Since I eat peppers with everything, I developed a strong spice tolerance. I eat South Carolina Reapers like they’re candy. I decided to go to a pepper eating competition. I made it to the finals versus Greg Foster. He holds the world record for eating 10 Carolina reapers in 10 seconds and he is the world champion of the Hot Pepper Eating Championship. We tied between eating 20 Carolina reapers in under a minute. Sudden deathmatch began and they brought out the Apollo Pepper. Developed in a lab, 3 million Scoville heat units. We both ate one to see who broke first. We waited and waited until it hit like a nuclear bomb. Whoever could last longer without drinking water, wins. Ten minutes went by and we were both panting. Greg Foster grabbed his water bottle and I won the championship.

Rhys Guilfoyle

9/22/23