Dear Diary

It is considered in Sparta to be an honor to die at battle, and I would follow Leonidas into battle without hesitation, but there is still a part of me that would rather return home than be slain at the hands of some cowardly Persian. This is our third day at Thermopylae, and Leonidas just got word that we’ve been flanked. Holding them off on one side has been tiring and difficult, but it was possible to do. There is no way we can hold both sides at once, especially against such a large Persian force. We all know what the outcome of this battle will be, and I’m sad to say this will be my last account.

At this point, our only job is to survive as long as we can, and delay the Persians for as long as possible. Some men are hopeful, saying that there is always a possibility of us surviving, but there is no way that us 300 spartans are going to make it out of this battle alive. It is unlikely that we would even be able to defend both sides, but even if we could the Persians would just take the coward's route and use their archers against us. Those cowards are going to cut us down one by one and there’s nothing we can do about it except fight our hardest for as long as we can.

How long this battle goes on for will decide the fate of Sparta. Leonidas has sent the rest of the Greeks home so now it’s only up to us. I have lived my life with no regrets and that remains true to this point. I will fight alongside my Spartan brothers until my last dying breath. I hope that my son and wife understand why I have died and can move on with their lives. Now is time to get in position, as the Persians are going to be here at any second.

The Trade Off

If I could swap places with any character in fiction that I wanted to, I would probably choose the Left Paddle from the hit videogame Pong. There are so many reasons why this is the perfect character to swap places with, because the Left Paddle is the most perfect character to ever grace this Earth. I have chosen which reason for swapping with left paddle are the best and I’m going to talk about them, and I think by the end you will agree with me.

The first reason why I would like to swap with Left Paddle is because I would become just so handsome if I did. I honestly cannot think of any character that is better looking that Left Paddle. The Left Paddle is such a perfect person, he is so symmetrical which is appealing to the eye, and he has come in many different colors over the years, which make him a diverse character to be. Also, Left Paddle isn’t just beautiful on the outside, he is beautiful on the inside too. Sometimes if you play against him, he lets you get one in for free, just so you feel a little better about yourself.

Another reason to swap with Left Paddle is because you are guaranteed a job for life. You will never have to worry about finding a job ever again because Left Paddle is destined to life of hitting a ball back and forth forever. If you’re good at your job, you’ll be able to get all those points, which will pay for dinner and other things for your family (Points totally act as money, don’t worry about it.) A good thing about having this job for life is that it’s a job that will help you get fit. Which won’t really matter because all you are is a vertical line, but you still would be able to move really fast.

The last reason why I would like to swap with Left Paddle is because I would have a very good friend for life that I get to work with and have a friendly rivalry with. Right Paddle would become one of my good friends that I would get to see everyday at work. We would have to become best friends because we would have to see each other every day. Also, if I was ever mad at Right Paddle, I would be allowed to shoot balls at his face. Mostly though, me and Right Paddle would be great friends for the rest of our natural lives.

So those are the reasons why I would like to swap places with Left Paddle from Pong. I bet by now you see the appeal of the Left Paddle, as he is probably the best character in the history of characters. Left Paddle is amazing and I think that everybody should look up to him as a role model.

Archetype

In almost every work of fiction there is a heroic figure. There are lots of different characteristics that all of these figures share. In this essay I’m going to talk about each of these characteristics, and give examples of characters in fiction who possess these characteristics.

A lot of heroes have very serious personalities and are very much loners. This is sometimes because the hero has gone through some sort of traumatic event in their life which has caused them to become the hero, but also made them become very serious and want to be alone at all times. This sort of characteristic is usually changed throughout the course of a story as the hero meets new people and usually develops some sort of love interest. So, while they usually change their minds about people by the end of the story, this is a characteristic shared by many different heroes. A good example of this is the hero Batman, he is a very serious person, very dark and brooding, but he has a lot of different friends who help him and he even developed a love interest which caused him to lighten up a bit.

Strength is a very common trait with heroes. A hero is supposed to be a character that can take whatever comes to them. So, a lot of heroes are very physically strong, like Superman or Thor ( The Marvel version not the one from Norse mythology ) and they can take a hit and fight villains. Also there are a lot of mentally strong heroes, which means that they can keep fighting no matter what happens to them and they don’t break. A good example of a mentally strong hero is Luke Skywalker, who started his journey after his uncle and aunt were burned to death, he even had to see the their charred corpses, also he is mentally strong because he continued fighting even after he found out that Darth Vader was his father.

Heroes have to be very courageous, otherwise they wouldn't be able to do the things that a hero does. A hero has to be brave and be able to do the things that would terrify any normal person. If the hero isn’t courageous they wouldn’t be able to do the things that scare them in the story. An example of a very courageous hero would be Frodo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings or another example is Indiana Jones.

So those are just some of the traits that many heroes possess in a lot of fiction. There are many other traits, but these are just some of the common ones with heroes today. In this essay I talked about multiple traits that a lot of heroes have.

The Top Five Best Videogames

Videogames are one of the most popular forms of entertainment. Unlike, books or movies, where the people watching are only able to view what is happening, videogames allow people to do more than watch and be part of the game. In this list, I am going to talk about which videogames I think are the best, based on how entertaining it is, the replay factor of the game. and just how popular it is in general.

5. Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Animal Crossing is a game about creating a town, a town that happens to be inhabited by a bunch of talking animals. In this game you come to this new town, and are appointed mayor, and from then on it's up to you to develop the town. As you play the game, new people will come to live in your town, and more shops will open. This game is really fun because it has a lot to offer and you can replay it a bunch of times and change the layout of your town or which people live in your village with you.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - The Legend of Zelda is one of the greatest adventure game series ever, and Ocarina of Time is my favorite game out of the series. This Nintendo 64 game, which was also remastered for the Nintendo DS, is widely considered as one of Nintendos best games. In this game, you play as Link, who is a young boy living in a place called Kokiri Village. You set out on a journey throughout the land of Hyrule, trying to save it from the evil villain named Ganondorf.

3. Mario Maker - Mario Maker is just like any other Mario game, except in this one you can make your own levels or play levels made by other people from around the world. Some people make some levels that are too hard, but there are a lot of really cool levels too. The level creator is really fun and easy to use and you can share all your levels for other people to play.

2. Super Smash Bros. - Super Smash Bros. is a very fun game where you take on the role of any of your favorite Nintendo characters and fight against your friends. You can play alone with computers and that is still a lot of fun, but this game is really for playing multiplayer against your friends. You can play with up to eight other people. There's many characters to choose from, each having there own special ability.

1. Pokemon Diamond - Pokemon is already a very popular series with many different installments, but Pokemon Diamond is my all time favorite, and the one I grew up with. In this game, you take on the role of a Pokemon trainer, who has to travel across the land of Sinnoh collecting and training different Pokemon for battle. This game honestly has a very good story and is just fun all around. You could replay this game many times and still not get bored with it.

Grammar Exercises

1. The team won (its) (it's) game. Did you win (yours) (your's), (to)(too) (two)?

The team won its game. Did you win yours, too?

2. They left (their) (there) books (there) (their) (they're).

They left their books there.

3. I hear (your) (you're) about to graduate.

I hear you're about to graduate.

4. Its) (It's) nice that (there) (their) (they're) friendly.

It's nice that they're friendly

5. Although I get (alot) (a lot) of colds, I feel (all right) (alright) now.

Although I get a lot of colds. I feel alright now.

6. (Whose) (Who's) prettier (then) (than) you?

Who's prettier than you?

7. Are you tired? I'm out of (breathe) (breath), (too) (to) (two).

Are you tired? I'm out of breathe, too.

8. Run back and (fourth) (forth) from (hear) (here) to (their) (there).

Run back and forth from here to there.

9. (Your) (You're) about to (loose) (lose) (your) (you're) book.

You're about to lose your book.

10. Everyone will (accept) (except) the prize (accept) (except) you.

Everyone will accept the prize except you.

11. Do you know (weather) (whether) or not he will give me the prize?

Did you know whether or not he will give me the prize?

12. Many people (choose) (chose) to live in large cities.

Many people choose to live in large cities.

13. Is the doctor (through) (thorough) (threw) with my exam?

Is the doctor through with my exam?

14. What (affect) (effect) does the school (principle) (principal) have on you?

What effect does the school principal have on you?

15. What did he (advice) (advise) you to do? Did you take his (advice)(advise)?

What did he advise you to do? Did you take his advice?

16. (There) (Their) (They're) are (alot) (a lot) of (your) you're) friends in the boat.

There are a lot of your friends in the boat.

18. I will (buy) (by) a book (buy) (by) Ray Bradbury.

I will by a book by Ray Bradbury.

Quiz

Game

Time Capsule

1. An Ipod - Leaving an Ipod will show the people of the future what sort of technology we used and they would be able to compare it to whatever technology they use then. Also, they would be able to use any of the apps and listen to the music, so the Ipod could show them what kind of music was popular in our time, and what sort of apps we used to pass the time, or just in daily life.

2. Seinfeld Box Set - First of all, this would show the people of the future what a dvd is, assuming they are obsolete in 100 years. Also, this would show what sort of entertainment was popular in the past and they would be able to see whether or not TV has developed in the last 100 years.

3. Some clothes - This would show the people of the future what kind of clothes we liked to wear. They would be able to see the style of outfits we wore, and what sort of designs they had.

4. A newspaper - A newspaper would show people what sort of current events were going on when we were alive. It would also contain lots of pictures of certain things. Also, newspapers might be obsolete by the time the time capsule is opened so it could be something to really represent this time.

5. Pokemon Cards - I decided to put this in because it is my favorite franchise and also a hugely popular franchise. These cards would show the people of the future one way that some of us liked to have fun, and it would also show people something that a lot of people liked to collect. Also if this franchise still exist in 100 years, these cards will show how much it developed.





Dear people of the future,

Hello! My name is Nick, I’m a fifteen year old boy that goes to Blackville high school, and I left this time capsule for you. I live with my family of five people. In my family there is my mother, Cheryl, my father, Wallace, my older brother, Noah, and my younger sister, Isabella. Some big recent events that have happened are that on April 12, 2015, a black man was killed in Baltimore due to police brutality, but the police denied it, causing the city to erupt into riots. Also a big thing that happened in 2015 was that Ireland approved same-sex marriage, which is pretty cool. Now, going back to bad news of 2015, there were nine people shot by a gunman in a Charleston church, the reason for the shooting was that the gunman did not like black people. Also this was the year of Donald Trump, a presidential candidate who is quite the character, he became very hated by many, and with good reason, he is very racist and homophobic, and just has some crazy plans for America. Trump also became a popular internet joke. Some good news that is closer to home is that Justin Trudeau became prime minister of Canada, which is good because he should make a lot of changes for the better. A lot more has happened over the year, but I couldn’t talk about them all so these are the ones that I think a very important.

Antonio the Friendly Pirate

1. Antonio was a pirate. He had been a pirate for a very long time.

2. Antonio liked being a pirate, but he didn’t like to bully people like the rest of his crew did. He wanted to leave his crew, but he was scared to tell the captain.

3. One day, Antonio and his crew sailed into a new town.

4. The rest of the crew went into the town to bully anybody they could find.

5. Antonio didn’t want to bully anybody anymore so he stayed back with the ship.

6. While Antonio waited with the ship, a boy walked by. Antonio was really bored, so he decided to talk to him.

7. “Hello!” Antonio said as he walked up to the boy.

8. The boy looked really scared and started to walk in the other direction.

9. “Please don’t hurt me!” He yelled as Antonio got closer to him.

10. Antonio was really confused, he never wanted to hurt this boy “Why would I hurt you?” He asked.

11. “Because you’re a pirate!” The boy responded.

12. Antonio was very upset by this, he didn’t want anybody to be scared of him. “Yes, I’m a pirate, but I don’t want to be!”

13. The boy turned back to Antonio and smiled at him. “Well okay. I’m Sebastian, what’s your name?”

14. “ My name is Antonio, it’s very nice to meet you.Would you like to see our ship?” Antonio asked. Sebastian looked very excited and nodded.

15. Antonio took Sebastian back to the ship and showed him around. He showed him where the captain stays, where all the crew works, and even where they kept all the cannons.

16. “Wow! That was really cool!” Sebastian exclaimed “Wait, Antonio, if you don’t want to be a pirate, why do you stay with your crew?”

17. “I stay with them because they’re my friends! And also I’m scared of the captain.”

18. Sebastian frowned “If they’re really your friends, they wouldn’t make you be a pirate, and you should face your fear of the captain so you can be happy!”

19. Antonio was really happy that he had finally made a good friend who wasn’t scared of him. Just then, he could see the crew returning to the ship.

20. “Captain, crew, I have something to tell you.” Antonio said nervously as the crew watched him. “ I don’t want to be a pirate anymore!”




21. The captain stepped forward and looked mad. Antonio was really scared now!]




22. Suddenly, the captain smiled at him “Yarr, if ye didn’t want to be a pirate, ye should have told us!”


23. The captain and the crew were happy for Antonio. Now he could finally live his life happily with his new friend Sebastian.