Best Friend

    Best friends are life savers.  They are there when you need them, to support you, to believe in you.  Best friends will always be there for you, they stick with you through thick or thin.  It is great to have a best friend, mine is Mary Burns.  She is about the same age as me, and we are complete opposite in looks, but our minds think exactly alike.  She is my best friend for many reasons, we met a few years ago, we share everything, and I never want her to leave.
    First, Mary is my best friend for so many reasons. She understands how I think, she understands how I feel, and she knows how to make me feel better when I am sad.  We always have fun together, whether we are bike riding, or watching fourteen hours of Harry Potter all the way through.  Mary makes me laugh nonstop, sometimes until I cry. The most important reason why Mary is my best friend is because she cares about me.  She helps me when I get sick at her house, and she helps me with all my problems.  I know she will always be there to help me with whatever I need.
    Furthermore, Mary and I met in sixth grade.  Although we met in sixth grade, we did not become best friends until seventh grade.  I was sitting in Mr. Leibmann's seventh grade classroom when she walked through the door and said "Amy!" excitedly.  Since we only knew each other in that class we stayed together in whatever we did.  We have been best friends ever since then. 

    Next, Mary and I share everything.  We share clothes, garages, and even books.  We share clothes when we have sleepovers, I leave my bike in her garage, and I let her borrow my books when I think they are worth reading.  The most important thing we share is our feelings.  I know when she is mad at me, and she knows when I am mad at her.  That way, we know how to solve the problem, or just get over whatever argument we are in.  It is important to share feelings with your best friend, that is how you learn to understand them.

    In addition to sharing everything, I know I would never want to lose Mary.  If she passed away I am not sure if I would be able to move on with my life for years after her death.  If she ever moved away, I would either force her to stay with me, or I would visit her whenever I had the chance.  If I ever lost Mary as a friend after a big mistake I made, I do not think I would ever be able to forgive myself for messing up. I would try my hardest to put our friendship back together.  Mary is a very important part of my life, I would die if I lost her.

    Last of all, best friends are life savers.  They know what to do when something goes wrong.  My best friend, Mary, has and will forever be my best friend for a million reasons.  We became best friends in seventh grade, and we share everything that there is to be shared.  If I ever lost her, I would not be able to function right.  Everyone wants a best friend, I am glad I found mine.

Gullible VS. Lovesick

William Shakespeare was a mystical writer in the late 1500s and still is in the 21st century. His plays have been the foundation and structure for every author on the best-seller list. His characters also have been remade and remolded in almost every book. There is always a lovesick Romeo in a love story, like Romeo and Juliet, and there is always a gullible Claudio in a deceiving tale, like Much Ado About Nothing. What people may not know is that Romeo and Claudio are very much alike, as well as different. Both characters have morals, some are also able to relate more to everyday life, as well as having to deal with fate. Claudio and Romeo may have different stories, but they both have a form of connection.
First, Claudio and Romeo both have morals to follow, and break. Romeo follows the rules of his heart when he first meets Juliet, as does Claudio with Hero. Then, Romeo and Juliet continue their love unknown to their families, but Claudio immediately asks Hero's father for her hand in marriage. Romeo and Claudio's morals change here because Romeo continues a love in secrecy and deceit to both the Capulets and the Montague families, while Claudio and Hero's love is open and honest. The moral of honesty is then broken for Romeo, and kept in tact for Claudio.
Next, both Romeo and Claudio are comparable to everyday life. If you meet the love of your life and they suddenly die, you would not want to live without them. That is how Romeo dealt with the death of his dear Juliet. Also, if you thought you saw something that betrayed you, you would end up confronting the person in one way or another. That happens to Claudio and he then confronts Hero after he thinks that what he saw in her window was true. Although Romeo's way of dealing with his problems is more extreme, while Claudio is something you see everyday, both characters can relate to everyday life.
In addition to being compared to everyday life, both characters have to deal with their fate. Romeo has a more harsh fate, that he does not really deserve. Claudio has a happy ending, but he does not deserve that either. Romeo does not have to kill himself in the end because he can just move on to someone else. Claudio does not deserve Hero in the end because he publicly humiliated her. Romeo could have mourned over Juliet but he did not need to go to extremes and kill himself. Claudio was terrible to Hero and in the end he still gets to marry her when he should have been punished for false accusation. Neither character deserves the fate they receive.
Finally, William Shakespeare have built the world of reading. He has created every character including Romeo from Romeo and Juliet, and Claudio from Much Ado About Nothing. Romeo and Claudio are two very comparable and contrasting characters. They both have to follow certain morals, such as honesty, and stay true to them. Both characters also can be compared to everyday actions, including love and confrontation. Also, both characters have to deal with fate and what they deserve. Both characters have many similarities, and many differences.

I am Amanda Germain, and I was born o...

    You could call me crazy, trustworty, and bubbily. But you can also call me Amanda Lynn Germain.  I was born on the longest day of the year and the first day of Summer, June 21st.  My name may be Amanda, but no one would know.  Everyone calls me Amy for more reasons than one.  First, it is because of my father, Jeff. He refuses to call me Amanda. He told my mother, Joan, that no matter what I was named, he would call me Amy.  So, being a mother and looking out for the future, she took the A-M from Amy, and put it into Amanda, just in case if I wanted a more "sophisticated" name. The name Amanda does not seem to fit the type of person I am, so I stick to Amy.

    First, I have an older brother, Eric.  He and I get along very well because we are only twenty months apart.  Some people confuse us as twins because we have the same looks. While we were growing up my brother loved to help my mom take care of me.  One day, my mom went to get my bath water ready. My brother decided to help, and picked me up. She came back to find me hanging from my ankles. She screamed, I screamed, and so did my brother.  That is how I got dropped on my head.

    Also, when I was about six years old, my mother got pregnant.  At one point, my family went out to dinner late into her pregnancy. My mother and father were discussing name possibilities.  The chioce was between Sean for a boy, or Lacey for a girl.  I did not like the name Lacey very much, so right in the middle of dinner I slammed my foot on the table. "LACEY? As in shoe lace!?" and I pointed at my shoe laces. My parents and brother started laughing, but I did not see what was funny in the situation. About four months later, my baby sister, Lacey, was born. 

    As well as growing up with a brother and sister, I was also surrounded by animals. I have always had at least three pets in the house at once.  My first and only dog, Misty, has been in my life since I was born. I have also had three cats, Boots, Shadow, and Summer. Boots ran away when I was young, Shadow is currently in my life, along with Summer. My family took Summer in because I was begging for another kitten when Boots ran away.  I recieved her for my birthday, which is the first day of Summer, and that is why her name is Summer.  My little sister recently got two bunnies, Hazel and Chester, for her birthday and now we have five animals in the house.

    Next, fourteen years of my life have passed and I have made many accomplishments.  Some of them being accepted into National Junior Honor Society, Key Club, and preforming in talent shows. National Junior Honor Society is a great honor becuase many great and intelligent people are in that group, and I would like to be known as one of them.  Key Club is also and accomplishment becuase I know how to can help people and still have fun while doing so.  I consider preforming in talent shows an accomplishment because I learned to show myslef to the world, and to be more outgoing.  Through the rest of my life, I would love to accomplish many great things.

     In addition to accomplishments, I have set many goals for myself.  The first is to graduate from Brick Memorial, which I am currently a freshman at, and recieve grades no lower than B's.  When I finish High School, I would like to attend Rutgers College for four years.  There, I would like to major in business and minor in art.  Once I complete four years there, I will attend to a two-year specialty school for culinary arts. After that school, I plan on working in my own bakery.

    Furthermore, hobbies are a very important part of life.  They help pass along time, while having fun.  My hobbies are singing, listening to music, playing guitar, baking, and hanging out with friends .  As I said before, I have preformed in talent shows, and all of them I have sung in.  I mostly stick to country songs, usually by Taylor Swift.  Taylor Swift is why I started learning guitar, she inspired me to keep music in my life. Baking is a great hobby for me because it helps me relax and have fun at the same time.  I usually bake with my friends, while listening to music and singing. My inspiration for baking is Duff from "Ace Of Cakes" he is amazing and creative.  I hope to be as creative as him when I am older. My favorite hobby is hanging out with my friends.  We always manage to have a great time, and by the end of the day I cannot feel my ribs from laughing so much.

    Speaking of friends, they say I can get a little hyper, which I do not deny.  It is something that makes me who I am.  Also, according to my freinds, I am a great listener.  I know what to say when they are having problems, and I am there for them whenever they need me.  A part of being a great listener is also being trustworthy.  My friends can trust me with a secret and my parents can trust me to watch after my sister.  I am also a very bubbly person, I almost always smile, and I try to look at the bright side of every situation. Along with being bubbly, I can make people laugh easily. I know cheer people up when they are sad by having them laugh at ridiculous stories, or just being myself.

    Beside personality qualites, physical qualities also make me who I am.  People usually comment on my "beautiful" blue eyes, which I have inherited from my father.  I also have medium length, curly, light brown hair.  I get my nose from my mother, thank goodness, because my father's nose is not pretty.  I am also tall, about five feet eight inches just like my parents. Along with being tall, I am also very skinny and bony.

    Next, vacation is something my family and I go on every year.  We usually go to the same places, Otter Lake, and Ocean City. Otter Lake is a camping resort.  Every year, my family goes to Otter Lake with about seven other families that we have known forever.  It started out with my uncle introducing us, and only my family going.  But my parents liked camping so much that they then invited one other family.  As the years went on, families, upon families kept coming with us, and we all have a great time together. This year though, instead of camping at Otter Lake, like we have done for the past seven years, we are going to try someplace new, Lake George.

    In addition to Otter Lake being an every year vacation, Ocean City is somewhere we go also.  We do not bring seven familes along with us though.  It is usually my dad's father, step-mom, and half brother that we go with.  Every year, we rent the ugliest yellow house and stay there for a week.  Where the house is located is great because it is only a few blocks from the beach, the boardwalk, and downtown.  One tradition we have is that every night in Ocean City, we play Uno, or Michigan Rummy.  This past year, my brother and I brought friends with us so we would not complain about being bored.  All four of us had a blast, and we plan to have even more fun this year.

    Finally, my life has been going great. I get along with my friends and family.  I also have set goals for myself which I know I can avhieve if I try hard enough.  I can also say that I have good personal qualities, and physical qualities.  My life is fun whether I am with family, or with friends.  I have many amazing memories and more are to come as I get older.  I would not trade my life for the world.