Creative Writing Portfolio 20062007 Forest Park

1
Creative Writing Portfolio 2006-2007Forest Park

• Bobby McCauley
• 11th Grade
• Mrs. Dowling

Click here to view my portfolio
2
Introduction

• Id like to thank the viewers who will be
  reading and hopefully enjoying my first
  portfolio. While reading this portfolio, I
  believe you will learn about my personality
  through a few of these writings. I try an put
  emotion into my stories. I especially recommend
  the character sketch because it describes not
  just my personality but that of one of my close
  friends. I put a lot of thought into that
  selection. Thank you for spending your time to
  read my portfolio, and I hope you like it!

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Table of Contents

• Portfolio 1
• Freedom
• Story Spinner
• A Stormy Morning
• Vegetables
• Home on the Weekends
• Paul
• The Man and the Fire
• My Name
• Reflections

• Portfolio 2
• The Unknown Side of Me
• My Generation
• Sky-Diving
• Salad Bugs
• Journal Entry 5
• Writing Assignment
• Poetry
• Additional Work
• Reflections

• Portfolio 3
• Hockey Tryouts
• Weightlifting Stinks!
• Street Basketball
• Birthday
• SOL Scores
• Advertisment
• Poetry
• Additional Work
• Reflections

4
Freedom
When I think of the word, freedom, I think of
peoples self-rights. Freedom is a word known to
many different people with many different
opinions on what the word means. Here in the
United States, when we listen to the word,
freedom, we think about the Constitution. In the
Constitution, it states that any U.S. citizen has
the right to practice their religion, and the
right to write and say what they want and
believe. My definition of freedom is the ability
to choose and change your future. You are not
free unless you have a say in your own life. I
feel angry when I hear stories of how people in
Iraq and Afghanistan are told what to wear, how
to live, and where to go. I can easily say that
is not freedom. I feel lucky and free because I
know what happens in my life is based on my own
choices.
5
Story Spinner

• I used to live in Bangor, Maine. We had an
  incident in the Bangor City Zoo about a year go.
  A gorilla had been unrightfully shot with a
  pellet gun several times in its gut. The
  zookeeper, who shot Joe the Gorilla just for fun
  and games, was immediately fired. However, the
  citizens werent satisfied with just the firing
  of the zookeeper because they also wanted to see
  the zookeeper arrested. The zoo decided not to
  press charges, and this made people in Bangor
  furious. The next day, a large mob formed in
  front of the zoo and protested the zoos
  decision. After about four hours of chanting,
  yelling, screaming, and marching, the zoo agreed
  to take the zookeeper to court. The judge forced
  the zookeeper to pay a 5,000 dollar fine, which
  was used by the zoo to improve Joe the Gorillas
  habitat at the zoo. It was amazing how much
  people did in order to protect our animals.

6
A Stormy Morning

• This morning my bus stop was a stormy world,
• Large balls of water were what the clouds had
  hurled,
• The rain smacked the ground like cannon thumps,
• Every time it thundered each person had his fair
  share of jumps,
• So I just stood there while the lightning and
  thunder snarled and rattled,
• While the rain and the asphalt of the road
  battled.

7
Vegetables
If vegetables could talk, then they would tell
kids how healthy they were to eat. They would
tell the kids that it hurts their feelings when
they reject then because they are green. The kids
will either be scared or excited. They might
think its fun to eat something that is talking,
or the talking food could scare them away. The
vegetables would probably brag about their
speaking skills to the fruits . We do not care
if you are sweet, and we are bitter! We can talk
and you can not! Vegetables would say. The
vegetables would become a proud member of the
food pyramid once again.
8
Home on the Weekends
On the weekends, at around noon, everyone comes
out to play. I can hear my brothers and all their
friends from up and down the street playing
soccer and street hockey. The sun glitters
through the shutters onto my bed. I put on my
shorts and basketball shoes, so I can play with
my friends also. Its windy a lot on the
weekends, so the trees that line up and down my
street are now waving back and forth. Sometimes
it can be a soothing and calm feeling to watch
the trees wave so peacefully. My street is a calm
yet rowdy place on the weekends. I wouldnt want
to live anywhere else.
9
Paul
I remember when I use to play soccer with a good
friend of mine named Paul. Paul and I were about
7 or 8, when we first met each other. We ended
up on the same team in the Dale City Recreation
Centers indoor soccer league. During the first
practice, all he did was talk. I thought he was
loud and annoying. It wasnt until the first
game of the season that I trusted him. I played
goaltender that season, while Paul was a
defender. We were playing the toughest team in
the league, to start off the season. It was my
first game playing goaltender, so I was very
nervous at the beginning of the game. At the
beginning of the game, I choked and let in an
easy goal. Most of my teammates were angry with
me and muttered words under their breaths, but
Paul didnt. He came to me and took
responsibility for the goal and assured me that I
shouldnt let myself be upset about it. I
finished the rest of the game strong, and even
though we lost the game 3-2, we were still proud
of our performance. After the game, I thanked
Paul for cheering me up after the first goal and
for helping me finish the game strong. From then
on, we became good friends. Paul and I both went
to Aquinas for elementary school. Aquinas was a
private school and was also very strict. Paul
was the only person I knew, when I came to
Aquinas in third grade. Most of the other kids
had known each other from preschool. During
recess I felt alone because I didnt know anyone
I could play with. All of the sudden, I turn to
see Paul running over to me. Come play football
with us down at the end of the parking lot, he
offered. I quickly said yes and raced him to the
bottom of the parking lot, where the game was
being played. He introduced me to all the people
playing football. Once again, Paul was a great
friend to me. He made me feel like I belonged
there, and that I was actually wanted. Aquinas
no longer felt like a foreign land to me. Paul
made it feel like home. One day during recess, I
was walking out to the parking lot to play
football, when a couple fifth-graders started
pushing me around. I tried to ignore it and just
walk away, but they continued to bully me. I
couldnt fight back because I was one against a
few of them. I felt helpless, until Paul came
out from the cafeteria and saw I needed help.
Paul was strong and tall for our age, so I
wouldnt rather have had anyone else backing me
up in that situation. He ran in between the
fifth-graders and me. He pushed one of them over
and told them to leave me alone, or theyll have
to deal with him also. They stared Paul in the
eyes for a few seconds, but ended up just walking
away.
10
The Man and the Fire
There he stands, So lonely an so still, There he
watches his home burn up, Like a barbeque
grill. There he stands, Just watching and
weeping, There he watches his home burn up, While
he collects the memories he is keeping.
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My Name
My name is Robert McCauley, although I never use
that name. I think Robert sounds boring and too
preppy. Id rather be called by my nickname,
Bobby. I believe Bobby is much easier to
pronounce, and sounds a lot more fun and
interesting. None of my friends call me Robert,
and Im glad. In fact, my parents barely ever
call me Robert, except for when theyre angry and
I have done something wrong. I get my name from
my father and grandfather. Both of them were
name Robert, and I inherited the name. I think
giving your son your name is sometimes a good
idea, but mostly not. Id rather name my son
differently, because it makes that much more
unique. I dont know why my grandfather was
named Robert, or any story that influenced his
name, so I dont have a story to tell. Im
Irish, which explains my middle name, Forestal.
I believe my middle name is the weirdest name
ever. You know it is a weird name when the
computer believes it is a misspelled word. When
I tell people my middle name, they laugh, but it
is alright because I laugh too. I usually keep
my middle name confidential because I dislike it
so much. The name Forestal is more stupid than
the movie character, Forrest Gump. My last name
also shows my heritage. McCauley is an Irish
last name. I dont really care about my last
name because nobody usually calls me by it
anyways. My grandfather was from Ireland, and
that is who my last name comes from. Im glad I
have a nickname because my actual first and
middle name are not two of my favorite names. I
havent really thought about other names I would
like to be called because I believe Bobby suits
me well. So this year Id appreciate if you call
me Bobby!
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Reflections

• The Character Sketch was the most difficult piece
  to write because of the challenge of choosing
  someone from my life and properly describing
  their personality in the sketch. I overcame it by
  choosing one of my best friends and explaining
  stories that shows his personality.
• I am most proud of my journal entry on freedom
  because I was able to express myself best when
  explaining what freedom meant to me.
• I decided not to put my conflict story in my
  portfolio because I do not believe I constructed
  a solid plot in that story.
• I feel lucky and free because I know what happens
  in my life is based on my own choices.
• It was amazing how much people did in order to
  protect our animals.
• So I just stood there while the lightning and
  thunder snarled and rattled,
• The vegetables would become a proud member of the
  food pyramid once again.
• I wouldnt want to live anywhere else.
• He made me feel like I belonged
  there, and that I was actually wanted.
• I havent really thought about other
  names I would like to be called because I believe
  Bobby suits me well.
• I chose these sentences as my
  favorites because they each explained the theme
  and emotional purpose in each piece of writing.
• The strengths were his ability to put his passion
  in his writing, but he could have been able to
  have better structure in his writings. More
  practice with writing should fix these problems.
• I would probably make the character sketch into a
  longer assignment because there is a lot more
  stories of me and Paul to be shared.
• I believe I would be able to change the piece I
  wrote on my name into a different genre. I think
  I could change it into a poem. I could alter it
  easy because it has a lot of adjectives and
  emotion in it.
• The selection on freedom probably suggests my
  personality the best because it shows my
  patriotism and free spirit.
• Some of my peers comments suggested that I
  elaborate on some of these selections, so I took
  that into account when creating my final drafts
  for these selections.
• Hey, Bobby, its Paul. I was just reading your
  portfolio, and I enjoyed it, especially the
  character sketch on me. I think the portfolio
  shows a lot of your personality. It shows how
  your loose, patriotic, and loyal. Ill be looking
  forward to reading portfolio 2. Until then,
  peace!

13
The Unknown Side of Me

• Something people usually dont notice about me
  happens to be that I get nervous a lot. My mom
  always tells me Im too loose, laid back and
  relaxed. However, the truth is I can get
  stressed out fairly easy. I find myself getting
  nervous over school work, issues over friends or
  girls, and even important hockey games. I mean
  people arent totally wrong when they call me
  loose and laid back because I do have my moments
  when I doze off or become a couch potato, but it
  isnt 100 of the time. Basically, what I am
  trying to say is that I definitely have my lazy
  moments, but I also have my fair share of moments
  where Im nervous, serious, and ready to get down
  to business. I have a serious and nervous side
  just like everyone else.

14
My Generation

• My generation happens to be a product of the
  1960s generation. People are much more loose and
  relaxed. Not as many people are religiously
  strict anymore. We continue to rebel against our
  elders like all adolescents do. People say we
  are increasing in ignorance and decreasing in
  moral values. They say each generation is
  getting progressively worse, and that it might
  lead to the downfall of the U.S.. I believe they
  are way to harsh and quick to judge. We are
  increasing in individuality and independence, as
  well as strong opinionated personalities. This
  might help our nation by increasing our leaders
  and diversity. We are just another generation of
  adolescents, who shouldnt be judged until we
  reach our adulthood and maturity.

15
Sky-Diving

• Whoosh! The air around me is making a loud
  whistling noise as I fall through the sky.
  Sky-diving sounded like such a fun and exciting
  thing to do, but my legs still froze for over a
  minute when I was suppose to jump off the plane.
  Wow! I feel so scared, yet so alive. I can feel
  my heart pumping at what feels like one-hundred
  beats per minute. My adrenaline is flowing
  through my body and is giving me this tingling
  sensation. I knew I should have gotten a haircut
  before diving because now my long hair keeps
  smacking me in my face! Slap! Wap! Ow! My hair
  feels like a whip when it hits my face. My face
  is feeling weird as it is. I can feel the air
  blowing against my face creating ripples in my
  cheeks. My cheeks feels like an ocean full of
  waves. Speaking of the ocean, Im almost to the
  water. I guess its time to use my parachute.

16
Salad Bugs

• If I found a bug in my salad, I think I might
  scream. I hate bugs, especially ones that crawl
  in my food. Ever since I was a child, Ive been
  scared of insects, spiders, and almost any other
  bugs I can think of. Id be afraid to touch them
  and want them no closer than 10 feet from me at
  all times. When my mother told me to squash an
  ant or spider that was in the house, Id use two
  pieces of paper towels to squish it because I
  would not even want to feel the first paper towel
  touching the ant or spider. My fear for bugs
  allowed me to get pretty well acquainted with
  different ant-killing sprays. I have memories of
  me going out back looking for ant hills to spray.

17
Hockey Tryouts

• On Friday night, Prince William held tryouts for
  their hockey team next year. I thought I played
  well, but I was not initially picked for the
  team. I was angry and thought I was cheated, but
  realized I probably had some things I could have
  improved on. However, next week the coach called
  me on the phone and offered me a roster spot. I
  was relieved.
• I wrote this because it was very disappointing
  for me not to get picked at first, but I was
  extremely when he picked me up next week. I felt
  I needed to put that on paper.

18
Weightlifting Stinks!

• I understand that in order to get better at
  hockey, I need to weight lift. On the other hand
  I also know how not fun it is. I mean take the
  squat for example. No one enjoys doing squats,
  especially not me, but you have to do them to get
  stronger and more athletic. I guess the saying
  No Pain No Gain really is true.
• I wrote this response because Ive had to lift a
  lot of weights lately for hockey, and I thought
  Id put my frustration on paper.

19
Street Basketball

• I am a hockey player, but lately Ive gotten to
  enjoy basketball a lot too. However, this does
  not mean Im good at it. Sure I can make an open
  jump shot, but when someone is covering me the
  closest my jump shot is to going in the top of
  the backboard. This has given me a lot of
  respect for NBA players, who have to make shots
  in other players faces all the time!
• I wrote this because I have developed a love for
  basketball. I think it is a fun sport to watch
  and play. However, I usually stick to watching
  it because my playing skills are a little bit
  lacking.

20
Birthday

• Yesterday was my birthday, it turned put
  alright. I didnt want my family to do anything
  to serious or expensive for my birthday, so we
  stayed at home and my mom cooked steak and
  shrimp. The food was delicious and so was the
  three cream cake we ate afterwards. The good
  feeling in my stomach ended, however, when I had
  to go to hockey practice, which included several
  sprints, with a full stomach.
• I wrote this for the plain old reason that it
  was my birthday yesterday, and Im happy Im
  finally seventeen.

21
SOL Scores

• So far, my SOL scores are great. I received a
  pass advanced on my English Writing SOL, as well
  as a pass advanced on my Geometry SOL. My
  parents were pleased, and so was I. I still
  havent seen my scores for Chemistry, History,
  and English Reading SOLs. I hope I do just as
  well on them.
• I wrote this because I was very enthusiastic and
  pleased with my SOL results so far, but Im also
  anxious to hear about my other ones.

22
Competition

• The love to compete,
• Flows through mens veins,
• The fear to lose,
• Lingers in mens brains,
• For their pride of victory,
• Is what a man gains.
• I wrote this poem about competition because of
  how competitive I am, and I thought it would neat
  to express my competitive nature in a poem.

23
Disappointments

• As the ball hits the rim,
• The following loud noise is despised by all.
• This poem I wrote about the immediate sense of
  failure, such as a missed game winning shot in
  basketball.

24
Power Skating

• Power Skating,
• Tiring, Boring, Exhausting,
• Hard-work, Persistence, Determination, Heart,
• Faster , More Balanced, Stronger,
• Better Hockey Player
• I wrote this because I dont enjoy power skating,
  but it will make you a better hockey player in
  the end.

25
My Jumpshot

• My jumpshot feels like rhythm and rhyme, when
  leaving my fingers.
• My jumpshot flows in an arch through the air.
• My jumpshot falls downward in a spiral aiming for
  the circular basket.
• My jumpshot makes a sweet, poetic noise, when it
  swoooshes through the basket.
• I wrote this because I love the sound your jump
  shot makes when you swoosh it.

26
GOAL!

• Intercept the pass, skate, pass the puck,
• Pass the puck, receive the puck, stickhandle,
• Stickhandle, make a move, prepare to shoot,
• Prepare to shoot, make a shot, SCORE!!!
• I wrote this because I thought it would be easy
  and relaxing to write my final poem as a list
  poem about scoring a goal in hockey.

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Courage

• Courage is used to describe a person standing
  up to his or her fears. Throughout the years, it
  has been considered an honor to be thought of as
  courageous. Most people relate the word courage
  to war or a hero in battle. Although it is very
  courageous to fight in battle, there are other
  forms of courage in life. Courage can be used
  for anyone who faces their biggest fears. It
  also can be used to describe someone who puts
  themselves in harms way for others. Courage
  requires strength, confidence, and generosity.
  Strength is needed to fight their fears,
  confidence to believe in themselves, and
  generosity to allow people to commit an act of
  courage for others. Even though courage can
  happen anywhere, it is scarce and hard to find.
  Lately it is rare to find people who care about
  anyone but themselves. However, there is one
  example from elementary school of a simple
  courageous act that may not be extraordinary, but
  it did show unselfishness and strength.
• I remember back in elementary school there was
  a friend of mine named Matthew. One day we were
  in the computer lab listening to a lecture on the
  internet, and Matt and I were bored and started
  talking. We spotted demerits, or detention
  slips, on Mrs. Cuccerinis desk. Ignorantly, we
  stole the demerits while she had her back turned.
  After class we realized what we had done was
  wrong, but we knew if we gave them back it would
  be sure detention. Unfortunately, walking away
  was not going to be that easy. Next period, Mr.
  Raines came into our classroom and told the class
  of the incident with the demerits. He told us
  the whole class would be in trouble, if the
  perpetrators did not come forward. After a
  couple minutes of silence, Matthew came forward
  and admitted his guilt. When they asked if
  anyone else was involved, Matthew told them that
  he was alone. Matthew was given detention, and
  after school I realized how brave of Matthew that
  was and how cowardly it was for me. He had taken
  the blame and the detention, so I could go free.
  Even though this is not a blockbuster story, it
  is still a small act of courage that we rarely
  see anymore in life.
• At the end of The Red Badge of Courage, Henry
  achieves what he was longing for throughout the
  book. He found the courage to keep on fighting,
  and at one point even led a charge against
  Confederate troops. He fought through his own
  personal issues and doubts, and was able to give
  his fellow soldiers faith when their hopes were
  faltering. He was able to fight through his
  greed, cowardice, and youth, and showed courage
  in leadership. He proved that anyone can be
  courageous, but there is a mental battle to win
  before you can begin to the fight the physical
  battle.
• Courage can be found almost anywhere out of
  almost anyone. It can be achieved in mental
  struggles as well as physical struggles. Courage
  can be shown by young students, adolescents in
  war, or even elders in nursing homes. Courage
  may be found in war, but battle is not needed to
  find this special value. It is always important
  to realize that no matter how small the act of
  courage it should still be considered very
  special.
• This was an English assignment, in which we had
  to describe courage and give examples on what
  courage is. I am proud of this essay.

29
Reflections

• 1.      Over the year, I have learned how to put
  a story together, so that the reader is
  entertained throughout. I have learned about the
  different styles of writing, and I have
  discovered the styles of writing I enjoy most.
• 2.      These writing exercises helped me write
  well-formatted and descriptive essays. The
  lessons about writing I have learned in this
  class led to a 600 on my writing prompt.
• 3.      My best pieces of writing are my Japanese
  poetry. In my Tanka and Haiku, I was able to
  express my feelings in a short, few lines, rather
  than having to extend it out.
• 4.      Whenever I ran into a challenge in this
  class, I just wrote with my feelings. I told
  myself that I should be having fun doing this,
  instead of stressing out on the writing. It
  always got me past the writing blocks in my head.
• 5.      I tend to do a good job of putting comedy
  into my writing. I believe you should have a fun
  time reading my writing.
• 6.      I learned that I may not be the best
  writer, but if Im having fun writing, than so
  will the people that are going to read it.
• 7. I still need to develop my ability to put
  great imagery in my writing. I still need to do
  a better job of describing my story, so that the
  reader will be able to paint a more accurate and
  entertaining picture with my story.