poem

12 years ago we thought graduation would never come.
12 years ago we were ready to take on the world.
Today we hope graduation doesn't come to soon.
Today we realize we might not be so ready to take on the world.
It's time to grow up but we just want to be kids.
It's time to go out on our own with out our friends that we grew up with.
Time to make new memories when all we want is to make our old memories last.
Time to say goodbye to the schools and the town that we have felt so safe in.
We can't stop time as much as we might want to.
We can't know the future as much as we might worry about it.
It's time to grow up.
It's time to take on the world.
I'm ready.

WHAT IS THIS!?

WHAT IS THIS!? By Rachel Sprayberry

A teacher story

One teacher that has ever made a difference in my life wasn't an actual teacher she was a teachers aid and she is like a second mom to me. Her youngest son dated my older sister for 5 years, her oldest son was one of my brothers best friends her oldest daughter was also a good friend of the family and her husband was like an uncle to me. I love her whole family with all my heart. Her name is Missy Farley. In junior high I was even quieter than I am now (I know hard to believe). I didn't have many friends and never really talked to anyone. But when I met her she taught me how to open up and to not be afraid of talking to people. I really think that she is the reason that I have as many friends as I do today. Every time I saw her in the hall I'd stop and give her a hug and she would talk to me and ask me how I was and what I'd been up to. If I was having a bad day she could always make me laugh and forget what I was upset about. She is no longer a teachers aid and has moved away but I still try to keep in touch with her. Every time she comes to town we go and get ice cream and just talk about things that I'm not able to talk to with anyone else and she listens. I miss her and her family very day that they are gone but I know she's happy doing what shes doing and she is also very happy where she is and that is all that matters.

A dark alley on a rainy night

As I regained conscientiousness, I remember asking "what where those headlights all about?" April said "I didn't see any headlights...just lay still I think your head is bleeding." But since I was so stubborn I tried sitting up. Immediately I felt as if the whole world was spinning incredibly fast, "laying down is a good idea," i said as i laid back down. When I was finally back down Ashley showed up and stood there in shock at the sight of me laying on the ground bleeding.

"RACHEL WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Ashley yelled. I said "DOES IT LOOK LIKE I KNOW!?" When she noticed that I was bleeding she suddenly knew all this medical stuff and began dressing my wounds as best she could till we could call someone for help. I decided to blame everything on April. "Its because I'm brown," April said. Well the truth is, we all know she is brown, but that's not why I blamed her.

"You gave her that drink! You said it had nothing in it, and you knew that it would mess her up!" Kamille said as she ran out of the vestibule. "Apparently she had some of the same drink cause she sped out of the parking lot and hit me with her car" I said as I lay on the ground trying to stay conscious. " How could you do something that stupid, oh wait it's you," Kamille said. Kamille had always been a little harsh on people, and when she saw what had happened to me that harshness turned into meanness. But luckily for me I only had a broken arm and a concussion...my mom always said that as long as you guys (talking about my brother, sister, and I) fall on your heads it's not that bad. I think she was calling us hardheaded.

Seymour Lazar Colin Stephan Dakota Johnny Clevis Homer Jackson Dan Jason Sprayberry

Hi my name is Seymour Lazar Colin Stephan Dakota Johnny Clevis Homer Jackson Dan Jason Sprayberry, my friends just call me Seymour or if they can remember any of my other names they might decide to call me by one of the others. I want to tell you a story about the time i found the big black shiny thingy! It was like any other day except there were weird hairless monkeys trampling through the forest. They were moving really funny, they didn't use there arms they just used there back legs and there arms hung down at there sides. They had weird looking things covering them too I think they called them clothes. I asked them what they were doing but they would not answer me. It's like they couldn't understand me. I was starting to become angry but then...I saw it. The big black shiny thingy! It was tall and had three legs with a long nose that got wider as it jutted out. I was so curious about it I jumped on the things head but it didn't move. I realized that the thing wasn't alive but when I looked down the things nose there was another monkey that looked just like me! I saw a flash of light when I looked to see what the flash was one of the strange looking monkeys in the things called clothes was holding a smaller black thing up to his face I started to yell at him "WHO IS THIS MONKEY THAT LOOKS LIKE SEYMOUR LAZAR COLIN STEPHAN DAKOTA JOHNNY CLEVIS HOMER JACKSON DAN JASON SPRAYBERRY?!?!?!" The strange hairless monkey just put the black thing back up to his face and made it flash some more so I jumped back into the trees and continued yelling at him till he left!

Letter to me

Hey, it's me...us...you?? You should be about 30 right now, hopefully you are married and have a couple of kids by now. Remember that was the plan? Have kids when you were still young so that when the children grow up you will still be able to keep up with them? Even though you were 17 years old when you wrote this you really wanted to have a family. Don't forget about everything you've gone through, all the troubling times were there to test you, to make sure you were strong enough to handle things on your own. I hope that you are handling things nicely I know how scared you probably were. I also hope that we went to college or some kind of school, and that we have a good job that we are happy with. That was the one thing we were worried about most, do you remember? Everyone always asking you what you were going to do after school but having no clue how to answer. Always worrying that you wouldn't find the job that you really loved. I hope that we found it I hope that all our dreams about meeting people, not being so shy, and finding a good guy that would treat you and your family right. I only wish that you could send me a letter telling me how things would turn out for me. To tell me what our husband looks like how many children we have or are planing to have, and who our friends are or still are. If you lost touch with your high school friends I advise you to call at least one of them and read them this letter, no matter the circumstances I hope you haven't lost sight of who we are.

Take care of us and don't ever forget who you really are

Rachel Sprayberry 17 years old
Childress High School
October 29, 2009