The Last Columns of the Summer

Column Eight:

Ways I Have Changed

by Emma Gilleland

     It’s hard to change for me. Mostly because I don’t really like change. I like things to be the same, safe and comfy. I think you can’t stop the change; you just grow into it. This summer I have changed a lot. Now I just need time to get comfy in my new shell, like a hermit crab. When I finally get cozy again it’ll be time to change, but that’s how life works and I’m OK with that. I’ll do my best to enjoy each me that comes by. These are the new upgrades that come with my new shell.

     I have grown as a writer. I see more of my mistakes because of spell check and proof reading. I’m also learning how to make a good outline.

     I’m learning what the real world is like. I knew Alvin was going to die, but I still could have fun with him and love him like the cute squirrel he was. If I was four, Dad wouldn’t have even showed me the little squirrel. I can accept things that are going to happen and still have a good time. I don’t need to be protected or sheltered as much. So next time a squirrel falls out of a tree Dad can trust that I can handle it. Also, from things like most scary movies, I can deal with Predator and Blade, though I would rather not watch The Thing or We Are Soldiers. I can also deal with most gore like stabbing, shooting, smashing skulls with rocks (like Thresh in the Hunger Games), even though I’d rather not.

     I am more mature than I was last year, and I can be even more responsible. I can do more things to help Mom. I am grown up and responsible enough to do things like go to Earth Fare for Mom without messing up. I could cook if Mom is busy. Also I can do more things I want to do. I could ride my bikes more places or baby sit, even camp in the woods once in a while.

     I have been doing more with no grown ups. Elle and I go to Ichiro by ourselves. Once we even had lunch there. Now that I’m comfy with this and ready to move on, I can do more. I just want to have more ways to have fun and be free. Also get comfy in my new shell.

How I’ve Changed Since Last Year

The End of Being a Sixth Grader

                                                                  By: Elle Gilleland

     In the past year as a sixth grader I’ve improved at many different things. I’ve improved as a writer with better punctuation, grammar, and no more lists (haha). I’m also using my voice better (putting more emotion into my writing), especially in my Alvin column. I’m a better singer, having gotten into ST-ARTS.

     I do more, like biking to Ichiro with Emma. I spent three weeks in ST-ARTS learning about my voice and music. I’m really trying to stay more active and in shape with running, push ups, and curl ups so when school starts I don’t have to struggle in P.E.

     I’m working harder and I’m more determined. I had to work harder in math to keep an A. I had to concentrate more to learn in all of sixth grade. I’m really working hard to stay fit so I can be on the South Pointe Cross Country and the Sullivan Track and Field teams.

     All these new changes have made me more confident. Being confident I’ve been able to handle people better, like the best way to handle a mean person is to kill them with kindness. When you want to make (or keep) a friend, be nice and make them feel good about themselves. If I can do all this, whose to say I can’t do other things?

     A lot of this I couldn’t do at the beginning of sixth grade, but I’m pretty good at them now. This tells me I’m definitely not a little kid anymore. I’m halfway done with Middle School.

                                                      How I’ve Changed This Summer
                                                               By: Jacob Gilleland

     This summer I think I’ve changed a lot.

     I have more impulse control than I did at the beginning of the summer. At stores I used to ask “Can I get this? Can I get this? Can I get this????” Now I will just ask one time (only if I really want it) or not at all. Just this morning I almost said something I would’ve regretted, but I stopped myself. Now I am smarter with my money, so I am never broke. I’ve come close, but I always have a one or two dollars to back me up.

     I am more responsible now than I was at the start of summer.

     Yesterday Mom, Elle, Emma, and I went to the grocery store. I put some groceries in the trunk of the car, and when we got home I felt I was responsible for them. When we got out of the car and my hands were full, I reminded Mom that they were in the trunk so they wouldn’t get left in the car. Last year those groceries would have sat in that trunk a long time.

     I care more about other people than I used to. I helped a boy named Joey learn how to block at football practice instead of practicing running routes and plays like I wanted to. Last year I probably wouldn’t have helped him and instead just have said “Ooooh, he can’t block, sucks for him!” and gone and ran routes.

     This year I’ve gotten a lot bolder. In my camp Bonclarken column I mentioned that my cabin mates and I climbed on the exposed rafters of our cabin. Last summer I never would have gone on those rafters. Last summer my friends and I built a bike ramp on an “island” in our neighborhood. I wouldn’t go over it until about halfway through this summer. I learned that doing some things that seem a little bit dangerous can actually be really fun.

     I am a much different person than I was at the beginning of summer.