Memoir Essay

I have had some tough times in my life that have changed me as a person. They have been mostly bad, but also good. My first time that I had trouble with was when my dog died.

Her name was Midnight. She was a black lab, always hyper, and she always was excited. We got her when she was about one. She was the craziest dog ever but she was still the best thing that ever happened to me. When she was two, she got pregnant and had puppies. I was in second grade at the time and it was the middle of winter.

There were thirteen to be exact, except that seven died. My sister, Gabby, and I named them all. We were always playing with them and never got tired of them. Once they were old enough, we started to give them away. It was hard for us because we loved them so much, we just couldn't handle it, but, we gave them all away, except one. It's name was Squeaky; you can imagine why. We couldn't get anyone to take it, so one day my dad brought it to the local Animal Shelter. That was hard for me because we saw him be born and grow up so much.

A year later, Midnight died. My dad said that he went inside to go get something and when he came back, he found her on the road dead. I was so mad that I didn't know what to think or do anything. I was so heart broken that for a month I didn't talk to anyone unless I had to at school or to my parents. It took me about a year to regain my confidence and then we got a new dog.

The second thing that happened to me was that I went to a new school. I was in fourth grade and I was getting tired of people picking on me. My parents knew about this and they were trying to do something about it. Finally, they thought of something.

We were at the supper table and all of a sudden my mom tells us that my parents were tying to get us into a Christian school. I didn't know what to think at first. When I thought about it, I figured that it would be good for me to go to a different school. When it was closer to school being over, my mom brought me over to Prinsburg to visit the kids that would be in my class next year. It was weird right when I walked in. No lockers, there was verses written on the wall, and there were pianos in the rooms. I forgot that it was a Christian school, not a public school.

The next year, I was in Prinsburg school. At first, I missed my friends and I wanted to go back, then I started to get use to it. I thought it was still weird not to have lockers, but I got used to it. It was hard for me to learn because the grading scale was harder, I never learned what they were reviewing, and I didn't know anyone. I got through fifth grade and I made friends and I was excited to go back the next year.

I learned over the years that if you let people or things go, in the long run, you will get them back, or you will get something like it. I have had some events that have changed me and made me who I am today. I know that I am going to have more events that will change me to be more like what I will be when I get older.

Any Topic Essay

I have a fun time in 4-H. We have a lot of fun times at the meetings and at the fair. We do all sorts of things, even help others. Normally, we will just have a meeting and find out what's happening and what we are going to do next time. We only meet once a month.

I go to the Danube Full-O-Pep club. We aren't that big of a group, but we are all girls. We go to the Renville Nursing Home and play Bingo and sometimes we even bring our rabbits to show them. One time, we went there and no one from our 4-H club got a Bingo, all of the elders got it. For prizes, we have candy or just a little snack. We try to go there about four times a year because the elders really like it.

Another thing we do is plant flowers. Every spring, once it gets warmer, we plant flowers at the Danube Community Center and the Danube Depot. When we plant flowers at the Depot, there are two little bins that are filled with dirt. We put in some Miracle Grow and then we stir it up and put in flowers. At the Community Center, there is an edge with lots of space. We don't put any other dirt because it already has enough dirt already. After we plant the flowers, we usually have our monthly meeting.

Once it starts getting close to the end of the school year, we start to have dog and horse training. Dog training is where we take our dogs and teach them to do different tricks with and without leashes. In horse training, we play games and also learn to do different tricks.

In the summer, we have meetings outside at the Danube park or we go on trips. We also go bowling if it is raining outside. When it is about two weeks before the fair, its the dog show. It is at the fair grounds and it is really hot. At the end of the summer, it's the county fair. We show a lot of animals. There are cows, horses, chickens, pigs, sheep, goats, and even llamas. Horses, cows, and llamas are in one barn and then the other building. It is really hot, but a lot of fun. We go there at about eight in the morning and get home at about eleven. On the first day, we just unpack everything and get our animals in their pens. After we are done, we go walk around and find our other friends to hang out. We go on rides and hang out with our animals.

On the second day, we go early and clean the cages. Then I have to go and clean my horse for the show. It's fun to give her a bath because it's hot so; it feels good to get splashed with water. After the show, we go and walk around. At night, we ride more rides and hang out late. The third day, we go and I get ready to play in the horse games. It's a lot of fun because you don't have to worry about looking nice or making sure that our horse does the right thing. After the games, we just hang out in the stalls and cool off as much as we can. Then we hang out again.

On the last day, we load everything up. Not a lot of people go on the last day, so we don't miss anything that amazing. It starts to get crazy at the end because we need to get all of our stuff taken out at a specific time. After the fair, we are happy with what we got in our rewards and can't wait until next year.

4-H is a lot of fun for anyone. We do lots of fun things and it doesn't matter how old you are. I haven't been in 4-H for long, but ever since I've been in it, I've enjoyed every minute of it. It is a good way to make new friends and even learn so much that you don't even realize it.

Celebration Essay

My cousin, Britt, is an amazing person. She is a couple months younger and a grade under me, but she is the best. We are together every time we can be. We have gone through a lot together. When our uncle died, we were there to comfort each other through everything. He was our favorite uncle; we would go over to his house and help him do whatever he needed to get done.

Ever since we were babies, we were inseparable. When we were younger, we would always go to each other houses and hang out. We got separated when I started to come to this school, but after awhile, we started to hang out again. We've done everything gone to the movies, gone shopping, and even gotten our hair cut at the same time when we were very little.

We've gone to each other's houses and done each other's chores. I go to her dad's house once in a while and help with their cows. We are in 4-H together and do the same projects. We are both in dance and we always make little moves up when we are bored. In the summer, we live at each other's houses for weeks at a time.

Britt has inspired me to be afraid of nothing and not to give up if you “fall off the saddle” because we always fall off our horses when we race. She also has helped me be grateful for my family and how I am blessed to have my parents married. Every time we hang out, I get this feeling that I should just be myself and not worry about what people think about me because it is hard for us girls.

One time, Britt and I were walking in Renville when we saw my other cousin, Autumn. She was walking with her dad's girlfriend's son, Phoenix. She said that Phoenix and her had to get groceries and do some other things for Eric and Steff because they didn't want to. Britt offered to help and that made me realize how she offered for both of us. I was amazed that she didn't say “ok” because they didn't get along that well, but she offered. I was really happy about that and even after, I was happy for helping them. That made me realize that even though you don't really like someone, doesn't mean that you can't help them.

Britt has inspired me to do so much that it is hard to not be grateful for everything I have. We are like sisters and that will never change. It is hard for us to get in fights because we agree on almost everything. We hang out all the time and make sure we aren't doing anything a week before it happens. Britt has changed me in good ways and bad, but we usually make the right choices.