What about peace? (draft 2)

Peace is devoted,
peace is gentle.
Peace is compassionate,
and peace is concord.

Peace listens to all,
never shutting its ears.
It resolves all issues,
mends all problems.

Peace is by no means silent,
its lips never sealed.
It whispers in hushed tones,
until someone listens.

Peace is influence,
the solution to revolution.
Expanding in those who follow.

Be peace,
embody it, and dwell in it.
Love it, and share it.
That's true peace.

Peace (1st Draft)

What about peace?
Is it war?
Is it crime?
Is it hate?

No
Peace is loving,
peace is kind.
Peace is caring, and
peace is never blind.

Peace sees everything,
never turning its back.
It can resolve any issue,
and fix any problem.

Peace is the power,
the solution to change.
Growing in all who spread it.

Be peace,
embody it and live it.
Love it and share it.

That's peace,
that's what it's about.

Bob's Day at Camp (Final Draft)

“Hi, my name is Bob,” the little boy said as he walked into his first day of Little Minds Day Camp. It was a bright and sunny morning, perfect for the first day of camp. His new camp counselor, Ms. May, asked all the kids to step up one at a time and tell every one their name and age. Each child did as she said, standing up one at a time they would say, “Hello, my name is … and I am five years old,” and as they said their age they would hold up a little hand with five fingers raised proudly on it. While they were going around the circle of camper introductions, Bob was thinking about how excited he was to be at camp. He had never been to a camp before and he was glad to have such a nice counselor. After all the campers introduced themselves, Ms. May told them that it was time for the first activity of the day, Art.

All the campers cheered as they skipped off to the art building. As they walked up the, what were to them, huge stairs they entered the coolest building on the whole campus of Little Minds Day Camp. The art building was brightly painted and had materials for any project you could imagine. The most striking feature of the art room was it’s ceiling, which was painted to look like a Starry Night. Bob had seen this painting many times before and it was his very favorite. What he liked most about this version was the way the lights on the ceiling were placed in the center of the stars, which gave them a more realistic illumination. The campers were instructed to pick a table to sit at with three other kids. The tables were all shaped like paint pallets and had paint brush legs. Bob picked a table with two other boys and a girl; their names were Ben, Jacob, and Mia. They were all very welcoming to him and were excited that he wanted to sit with them. Bob loved art and he especially liked to do art projects. He just couldn’t wait to get stared with the project of the day.

Today the campers were going to make macaroni necklaces. This was a favorite among all the campers including Bob. They were all given a bole full of macaroni, some paint and string. Each camper then proceeded to take a piece of smooth macaroni and paint in their favorite color. Bob made a wonderful necklace of blue and red macaroni that he decided was to be for his big sister Katie. When the little jewelers finished their fine pieces of jewelry, they moved on to their next activity.

It was now time for fun and games out side. Bob couldn’t wait to run and play with all of his new camp buddies, especially Mia. He had a little bit of a crush on Mia. She had big sparkling blue eyes and long curly brown hair. She was by far the prettiest girl he had ever seen and she was his favorite playmate at camp. The activity for today was an obstacle course. It consisted of a tunnel, a ball pit, a maze, and then finally a small rock wall. Ms. May told them the instructions, “Okay kids let’s split into two groups of six and then we will have a race through the obstacle course. Which ever team gets to the finish line first, WINS!”

Bob was so excited to conquer the obstacle course with his teammates. A boy on his team named Tommy, whispered to him, “Hey Bob, I hope we win. Do you think the team that wins will get a prize?” Bob then whispered back, “I don’t know if the winning team will get a prize, but if they do I hope it’s our team!” Just as they finished whispering to each other, Ms. May yelled, “Ready, set, go!” The race began and they were off. They darted through the tunnel, swam through the ball pit, weaved their way through the maze, leaped over the rock wall, and were at the end in no time. It was a tie! Both teams won and everyone was ecstatic. They all cheered and jumped around like a bunch of chimpanzees. Bob thought it was awesome that none of his new friends had to lose and that they all got to be winners.

The first day of camp was coming to an end and every one had had a great morning. All the campers went to the art building to pick up their art and then went to pick-up/drop-off area to wait for their parents. Bob thought about all the fun he had that day and the new friends he had made. He couldn’t wait to tell his mom and sister about all the exciting activities at camp. He also wanted to tell his mom about his special new friend Mia and how much fun she was to play with. The most important thing Bob was thinking about as he waited for his mom to pick him up was that he couldn’t wait to get home to eat his lunch that was waiting for him. He thought, “Man I love hot dog day!” as his stomach rumbled with hunger right as his mom pulled up to take him home from his first day at Little Minds Day Camp.

Bob's Day at Camp

“Hi, my name is Bob,” the little boy said as he walked into his first day of camp. It was a bright and sunny day, a perfect day for the first day of camp. The camp instructor, Ms. May, then asked all the kids to step up one at a time and tell every one their name and age. Each child then did as she said, standing up one at a time saying hi, their name, and then their age with a hand held up with five fingers indicating that they were all five years old. After all the campers had introduced themselves Ms. May told them that it was time for the first activity of the day. It was time for art.

All the campers cheered as they skipped off to the art building. As they walked up the, what were to them, huge stairs they entered the coolest building in the whole camp. The art building was brightly painted and had materials for any project you could imagine. The most striking feature of the art room was it’s ceiling, which was painted to look like a Starry Night. Bob had seen this painting many times before and it was his very favorite. What he liked most about this version was the way the lights on the ceiling were placed in the center of the stars, which gave the stars a more realistic illumination. The campers were instructed to pick a table to sit at with three other kids. The tables were all shaped like paint pallets and had paint brush legs. He was so excited, he just couldn’t wait to get stared with their art project.

Today the campers were going to make macaroni necklaces. This was a favorite among all the campers including Bob. They were all given a bole full of macaroni, some paint and string. Each camper then proceeded to take a piece of smooth macaroni and paint in their favorite color. When the little jewelers finished their fine pieces of jewelry, they moved on to their next activity.

It was now time for fun and games out side. He couldn’t wait to run and play with all of his new camp buddies. The activity for today was an obstacle course. It consisted of a tunnel that they crawl through; followed by a ball pit they had to swim through, after that there was a maze, and then finally a small rock wall that they had to climb over to get to the finish line. Ms. May told them the instructions, “Okay kids let’s split into two groups of six and then we will have a race through the obstacle course. Which ever team gets to the finish line first wins.” He was so excited to go through the obstacle course with his team. Another boy on his team named Tommy, whispered to him, “Hey Bob, I hope we win. Do you think the team that wins will get a prize?” Bob then whispered back, “I hope we win too! That would be fun.” Just as they finished whispering to each other, Ms. May said, “Ready, set, go!” The race began and they were off. They darted through the course and were at the end in no time. It was a tie! Both teams won and everyone was happy. They all cheered and jumped around like a bunch of chimpanzees.

The first day of camp was coming to an end and every one had had a great day. All the campers got there art and then went to pick up area to wait for their parents. Bob thought about all the fun he had that day and he couldn’t wait to tell his mom. The most important thing that he was thinking about was how he couldn’t wait to eat the lunch that was waiting at home for him.

Bob's Day at Camp (first draft)

“Hi, my name is Bob,” the little boy said as he walked into his first day of camp. It was a bright and sunny day, a perfect day for the first day of camp. The camp instructor, Ms. May, then asked all the kids to step up one at a time and tell every one their name and age. Each child then did as she said, standing up one at a time saying hi, their name, and then their age with a hand held up with five fingers indicating that they were all five years old. After all the campers had introduced themselves Ms. May told them that it was time for the first activity of the day. It was time for art.

All the campers cheered as they walked to the art building. As they walked up the, what were to them, huge stairs they entered the coolest building in the whole camp. The art building was brightly painted and had materials for any project you could imagine. The most striking feature of the art room was it’s ceiling, which was painted to look like a Starry Night. Bob had seen this painting many times before and it was his very favorite. What he liked most about this version was the way the lights on the ceiling were placed in the center of the stars, which gave the stars a more realistic illumination. The campers were instructed to pick a table to sit at with three other campers. The tables were all shaped like paint pallets with paint brush legs. Bob was so excited he couldn’t wait to get stared with their art project.

Today the campers were going to make macaroni necklaces. This was a favorite among all the campers including Bob. They were all given a bole full of macaroni, paint and string. Each camper then proceeded to take each piece of smooth macaroni and paint in their favorite color. When the little jewelers finished their fine pieces of jewelry, they moved on to their next activity.

It was now time for fun and games out side. Bob couldn’t wait to run and play with all of his new camp buddies. The activity for today was an obstacle course. It consisted of a tunnel that they crawl through, followed by a ball pit they had to swim through, after that came a maze, and then finally a small rock wall that they had to climb over to get to the finish line. Ms. May told them the instructions, “Okay kids lets split into two groups of six and then we will have a race through the obstacle course. Which ever team gets to the finish line first wins.” Bob was so excited to go through the obstacle course with his team. Another boy on his team named Tommy, whispered to him, “Hey Bob, I hope we win. Do you think the team that wins will get a prize?” Bob then whispered back, “I hope we win too! That would be fun.” Just as they finished whispering to each other, Ms. May said, “Ready, set, go!” The race began and they were off. They darted through the course and were at the end in no time. It was a tie! Both teams won and everyone was happy.

The first day of camp was coming to an end and every one had had a great day. All the campers got there art and then went to pick up area to wait for their parents. Bob thought about all the fun he had that day and he couldn’t wait to tell his mom. The most important thing that Bob was thinking about was how he couldn’t wait to eat the lunch that was waiting at home for him.

Cancer (third draft)

When I was five years old, my life hit me with a right hook. My sister was six months old and my mom had been feeling sick for a while. She kept going to the doctor but, always got the same response, "you have a cold Sally".

Finally that dreadful day came. The doctors decided to give her a scan just to make sure that there was nothing seriously wrong. That’s when they found it, the thing that was the start to the worst part of my life. It turns out that cold she had been struggling with was really cancer in her lymph nodes. So a cancer called lymphoma was killing my mom.

She began receiving tests and was always at the hospital, leaving me, my two brothers and my baby sister at home without our mother. My grandparents who had been living with us on and off finally moved in permanently.

I was six years old now and going into my second year of Catholic school. My mom was still having tests but, she began to get worse. The cancer was rapidly growing and all I wanted was to be a regular six year old playing at the playground with my mom. I was trying to get use to being a little mother to my sister and it started to show me the reality of my life.
My dad slowly seemed to be gone more then ever. He was working more and more, taking on extra overtime at the hospital and even a second job. I began to notice that people would bring us dinner and that getting the usual ice cream with my dad or the candy at the gas station up the street with my mom didn't happen any more. I would hear my parents talking about how we needed to watch our spending closer and I guess with just my dad working and my mom beginning chemo with two kids in private school, things got pretty tight. I never saw it from my mom though; she believed that God was in control.

As if things weren't bad enough I began to struggle with school. Failing tests here and there it seemed like God had forgotten all about me. I began to pray decades of the rosary three or four times a day when the other kids would be playing soccer at recess.

My mom was now extremely sick. She had lost all her hair from the chemo. I began to cry my self to sleep because I hated it when she went to the hospital, I was so afraid of her not coming home that night. It was these nights that I would have nightmares about her dieing without letting me say goodbye. I started to fake stomach aches so I could sit in my mom arms without her knowing how afraid I was. It was that comforting rocking that helped me to keep pushing through the pain.

One day the doctors told her that the cancer was terminal. I then began to hate school, mostly because I always wanted to be at home with my mom but also because I couldn't read. I began to feel like I was a failure. I felt like I was letting my mom down because she had to spend time taking me to the Kluge center to get tested and I just wanted her to focus on getting better. I was so afraid she was going to die when I wasn't with her. My mom didn't know but one night I heard her talking with my dad and I heard her tell him that the doctors gave her two years to live.

Now I was seven years old and in second grade. School wasn't much better and neither was my mom. Then on an amazing day I think God finally heard my prayers. Some how the chemo she had been receiving had cured her. It was a miracle! Out of the blue when she went in for a scan after a treatment and they couldn’t find any tumors. The cancer was gone. She didn't need treatments anymore. I had my mom back!

Home life began to get better. My mom became healthier and healthier. Finally we weren't as short on money. My mom decided now that she was cancer free it was time to find my dyslexia a tutor, well, one that didn't make me feel even dumber. We found my angel, Ms. Robinson. She was able to do what no one else could, she taught me to read.

I could now read on a first grade reading level but, I was finishing the second grade. My mom was back to her normal self and I felt like I got my family back. Just when things were looking better the principle decided to put me back in second grade. I cried for days and I felt so bad because my mom felt like it was her fault because she was sick and couldn't help me as much as I had needed her to. I hated seeing those tears in my mom’s eyes from seeing her baby girl have to repeat a grade because she couldn’t read well enough to move on to the next. I then started to feel like I wasn't allowed to be happy ever again.

So I entered second grade again and then realized that Ms. Chiccarone saved me from failing for the rest of my life. She supported me with my learning needs but also boosted my self confidence, which was something I seriously lacked. So with two angels on my side, I became a smart child. Then for the first time in three years, I was truly happy. I knew how to treasure life and love everything that happens because I know that God was listening through it all, even if it took along time. I wouldn't trade any of this for the world because now I know what love, life, tears and true happiness really mean in life.

Cancer (Second Draft)

When I was five, life surrounding me hit with a right hook. My sister was six months old and my mom had been feeling sick for a while. She kept going to the doctor, always got the same response, "you have a cold Sally".

Finally that dreadful day came. The doctors decided to give her a scan just to make sure that there was nothing seriously wrong. That’s when they found what could be the worst event of my life. It turns out that cold she had been struggling with was really cancer in her lymph nodes. Something called lymphoma was killing my mom.
She began receiving tests and was always at the hospital, leaving me, my two brothers and my baby sister at home without our mother. My grandparents who had been living with us on and off finally moved in permanently.

I was six and going into my second year of Catholic school. My mom was still having tests but, she began to get worse. The cancer was rapidly growing and I wanted to be a regular six year old playing at the playground with my mom. I was trying to get use to being a little mother to my sister and it started to show me the reality of my life.

My dad slowly seemed to be gone more then ever. He was working more and more, taking on extra overtime at the hospital and a second job. I began to notice that people would bring us dinner and that getting the usual ice cream with my dad or the candy at the gas station up the street with my mom didn't happen any more. I would hear my parents talking about how we needed to watch our spending closer. I guess with just my dad working and my mom beginning chemo with two kids in private school, things got pretty tight. I never saw it from my mom though; she believed that God was in control.

As if things weren't bad enough I began to struggle with school. Failing tests here and there it seemed like God had forgotten all about me. I began to pray decades of the rosary three or four times a day when other kids would be playing soccer at recess.
My mom was now really sick. She had lost all her hair from the chemo and I started to cry my self to sleep. I hated it when she went to the hospital I was afraid of her not coming home that night because something was wrong. It was these nights that I would have nightmares about her dieing without letting me say goodbye. I started to fake stomach aches so I could sit in my mom arms without her knowing how afraid I was.

One day the doctors told her that the cancer was terminal. I then began to hate school, mostly because I always wanted to be at home with my mom but also because I couldn't read. I began to feel like I was a failure. I felt like I was failing my mom because she had to spend time taking me to the Kluge center to get tested and I just wanted her to get better. I was so afraid she was going to die when I wasn't with her. My mom didn't know but one night I heard her talking with my dad and I heard her say the doctors gave her two years to live.

Now I was seven and in second grade. School wasn't much better and neither was my mom. Then on one amazing day I think God finally heard my prayers. Some how the chemo she had been receiving had cured her. It was a miracle! Out of the blue when she went in for a scan after a treatment and they couldn’t find any tumors. The cancer was gone. She didn't need treatments anymore. I had my mom back!

Home life began to get better. My mom became healthier and healthier. Finally we weren't as short on money. My mom decided now that she was cancer free it was time to find my dyslexia a tutor, one that didn't make me feel even dumber. We found my angel Ms. Robinson. She was able to do what no one else could, she taught me to read.

I could now reading on a first grade reading level but, I was finishing second grade. My mom was back to her normal self and I felt like I got my family back. Just when things were looking better the principle decided to put me back in second grade. I cried for days and I felt so bad because my mom felt like it was her fault because she was sick and couldn't help me as much as I had needed her to. I hated seeing those tears in my mom’s eyes from seeing her baby girl have to repeat a grade because she couldn’t read well enough to move on to the next grade. I then started to feel like I wasn't allowed to be happy ever again.

So I entered second grade again and then realized that Ms. Chiccarone saved me from failing for the rest of my life. She supported me with my learning needs but also boosted my self confidence, which was something I seriously lacked. So with two angels on my side I became for the first time, a smart child. Then for the first time in three years, I was truly happy. I knew how to treasure life and love everything that happens because I know that God was listening through it all, even if it took along time. I wouldn't trade any of this for the world because now I know what love, life, tears and true happiness really mean in life.

Cancer

When I was 5 the life surrounding me hit with a right hook. My sister was 6 months home and my mom had been feeling sick for a wile. She kept going to the doctor and kept getting the same response, "you have a cold Sally". Finally that dreadful day came. The doctors decided to give her a scan just to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong with her. Then they found possibly what could be the worst part of my life. It turns out that cold she had been struggling with was really cancer in her lymph nodes. So a little thing called lymphoma was killing my mom. She was receiving tests and always at the hospital leaving me my 2 brothers and my baby sister at home without our mother. My grandparents who had been living with us on and off finally moved in permanently. I was 6 and going into my second year of catholic school. My mom was still having test but she began to get worse. The cancer was rapidly growing and I wanted to be a 6 year old playing at the playground with my mom. I was trying to get use to being like a little mother to my sister and it was beginning to show me the reality of my life. My dad slowly seemed to be gone more then ever. He was working more and more taking on extra overtime at the hospital and a second job. It seemed like I began to notice that people would bring us dinner and that getting the usual ice cream with my dad or the candy at the gas station up the street with my mom didn't happen any more. I would hear my parents talking about how we would need to watch our spending closer. I guess with just my dad working and my mom beginning chemo and 2 kids in private school things got pretty tight. I never saw it from my mom though she was always believing that God was in control. As if things weren't bad enough I began to struggle with school. Failing tests here and there it seemed like God had forgotten about me. I began to pray ever day three or four times. My mom was now really sick. She had lost all her hair and I started to cry my self to sleep. I hated it when she went to the hospital I was afraid of her not coming home that night because something was wrong. I started to fake stomach aches so I could sit in my mom arms without her knowing how afraid I was. The doctors then told her that the cancer was terminal. I then began to hate school. Mostly because I always wanted to be at home with my mom but also because I couldn't read. I began to feel like I was a failure. I felt like I was failing my mom because she had to spend time taking me to the Kluge center to get tested and I just wanted her to get better. I was so afraid she was gonna die when I wasn't with her. I began to get nightmares almost every night. My mom didn't know but one night I heard her talking with my dad and I heard her say the doctors gave her 2 years to live. Now I was 7 and in second grade. School wasn't much better and neither was my mom. But then I think God finally heard my prayers. Some how the chemo cured her. The cancer was gone. She didn't need treatments anymore. Home life began to get better. Then my mom became healthier and healthier. Finally we weren't as short on money. My mom decided now that she was cancer free it was time to find my dyslexia a tutor that didn't make me feel even dumber. We found Mrs. Robinson she is my angel. She did what no one else could. She taught me to read. I was reading on a first grade reading level and finishing second grade. My mom was back to her normal self and I felt like I got my family back. Just when things were looking better the principle put me back in second grade. I cried for days and I felt so bad because my mom felt like it was her fault because she was sick and couldn't help me as much as I needed. I felt like I wasn't allowed to be happy ever again. I hated seeing those tears in my moms eyes. So I entered second grade again and then realized that Ms. Chickarone saved me from failing for the rest of my life. So with two angels on my side I became for the first time a smart child. So for the first time in 3 years I was truly happy. I knew how to treasure life and love everything that happens because I know that God was listening even if it took time. I wouldn't trade any of this for the world because now I know what love, life, tears and true happiness really are.