Journals #1 and #4

Journal #1
The
mountains claw around Pierce, leaving a valley for the lake and its guests. His
sunglasses dangle from his white shirt neck, telling tales of past brightness.
Emerald Lake ripples in the background, justifying its name with a beautiful
green tint. A couple of summers ago, he hiked up here with his family, though
they are out of frame. The elevation increased sharply along the hike, bringing
the wonders of remaining snow to the July day. Briefly, powder even drifted
down upon the entranced wanderers. A break for lunch and enjoying the warm day
was soon over before they made their way back down.


Journal #4
Through my
life, I have grown and flourished due to the constant support of my family. I
have never grown up by family outside my parents, brother, and sister, so I
gave grown even closer with them. Spending time with family is not only an
important time to connect, but also an emotional relief. Going on a run with my
mom is always a joy, even if I don’t want to at first (due to laziness). It is
such a good stress relief to spend time with family, and also a delight. Every
time I ask one of my parents to pass a baseball, seven out of eight times the
answer is no. But on that eighth time, I’m so happy because I get to spend time
with them doing something I love. I remember, when I was younger and we lived
in the old house that I had to share a room with my brother in, there was a
large, bowl field across the street. My siblings and I gave so many memories of
sledding and flying kites, but one memory of mine is with the whole family.
There was a big, blue ball the shade of the ocean when you look really far out
near the horizon. The rubber surface was thick, smooth, and somewhat grainy. It
was a nice summer day, probably a Saturday because my dad works weekdays and we
didn’t have church that morning. We all went over to the giant bowl of grass
and ran around like cereal that didn’t want to be eaten. The big, grainy, ocean
ball was flying around, being passed from person to person. Sometimes it would
miss my open arms and smack my face that was slightly turned from not having
enough time to dodge. My dose would ache and my cheek would sting, but I would
ignore it because I didn’t want to end the fun. Spending time with family has always
been important for me. It relieves stress and creates memories. Time together
holds families together, and without family, we are islands with no bridge.

Pierce Finley