Art in the Eyes of Longfellow: Poem Interpretation by Crystal Zettwoch

Many people know the famous Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for his beautifully composed poems and pieces of literature. One of his most famous pieces "A Psalm of Life" (first appearing in the Knickerbocker Magazine in October 1838) carries multiple meaningful messages including the importance of life and the necessity of finding your purpose in life and being productive to fulfill your said purpose.

Here is the poem:

TELL me not, in mournful numbers,

Life is but an empty dream ! —

For the soul is dead that slumbers,

And things are not what they seem.

Life is real ! Life is earnest!

And the grave is not its goal ;

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

Is our destined end or way ;

But to act, that each to-morrow

Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting, 

And our hearts, though stout and brave,

Still, like muffled drums, are beating

Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,

In the bivouac of Life,

Be not like dumb, driven cattle !

Be a hero in the strife !

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !

Let the dead Past bury its dead !

Act,— act in the living Present !

Heart within, and God o'erhead !

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time ;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing o'er life's solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate ;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait.

------------------------------

One particular line reads, "Art is long, and Time is fleeting". This specific line has stayed with me since the first time I had read it. 

What exactly does this statement mean?

I believe the message Longfellow is trying to deploy is the fact in which art is everlasting and cannot be taken away or changed over time. However, time never ceases to stop for us and things change as time changes.

Art is long lasting, yet our time on earth is not. 

This stresses the importance of art. We need to leave a piece of us behind and what better way to do so besides art ? Art comes in all different forms, but it is ultimately up to us which form we leave behind.

Recently I took a trip to Washington DC and toured the Library of Congress. The architecture and mosaics where absolutely breathtaking. Just by standing in the Library I was able to get a feel of the time period in which it was built. The art surrounding me led a path for me to begin to understand past American culture and all the other supporting influences which impacted the United States. 

Ironically, when I looked up at the decorated walls in the Library, Longfellow's very words were displayed above me with the exact line I treasure so much. I believe that this was not a coincidence at all, the individual who was in charge of decorating the Library placed that quote to express the importance of the power of art on a society.

"Anxiety, Applications and Autumn" by Sarah Vallecillo

As a child, I loved the fall because of the vibrant colors, Halloween, and pumpkin pie. As I grew older, I began to dread the season because it meant I would have to go
back to school and deal with the stress it caused me. My first day as a high school senior, almost all of my teachers mentioned how college and adult responsibilities were approaching us with increasing speed. College applications, S.A T's, deadlines and the pressure to maintain an impressive grade point average loomed over my head. I had a long list of things I needed to accomplish and the constant reminders stirred up a panicked feeling in my chest. On the way home, I looked out the car window and focused on the trees and the slight yellow tint of the turning leaves. As I stood at the threshold of my senior year, I was reminded of a more charming fall day in 2003, before school became such a scary place, a time where fall was much simpler.

 This particular Saturday afternoon in October, my father decided to take me and my siblings to the local park in our neighborhood. The weather was comfortable, but still cold enough to wear a sweater. Dried leaves whisked along the cobblestone and happy colored tree tops stood a mile above me. The sounds of squealing children, ringing bells from food vendors and Mexican music mingled together in the air. I took delight in playing on piles of leaves which park sanitation had unintentionally left at my disposal. We stayed until the sun started to set, to my mothers annoyance, we would be late for dinner. I remember sitting on a grassy hill, overlooking the busy streets below. I watched as the sky turned to a lovely shade of pink, and in that moment not a single worry crossed my mind.

There are days when I long for this feeling of peace. My first day of senior year was simply one of those days. I realize I am not alone in my college endeavor and most high school seniors face  similar feelings of anxiety during this particular season. I know more gratifying times are yet to come and I look forward to when my hard work pays off. Still, I appreciate when I can get lost in a memory and escape the worries of life, even if it is just for a few moments.

United States Army Visit: 9/24

The United States Army visits our school and gives students the chance to have a hands on experience in the AS49th Graders Kelsey Flynn and Jaden Corallo test out the AS4 goodies.

HAPPINESS - a poem by TERESA PARISI

You feel like you're drowning in regrets and sorrows

so when you hit the surface it's a breath of new air

a taste of what you used to feel.

Your lungs are filled with oxygen, you can feel them thanking you.

Everything is at peace. Everything is quiet. 

The water keeps you afloat; you stretch out your arms, reach out with your legs, and close your eyes.

You exhale.

But you're drifting, the waves are crashing, you forget how to swim, and you're under once again,

Everything is paralyzed, and the collection of pillow cases you've drenched in your own remorse are filling your body, weighing you down.

You've reached the sea floor, not walking but shuffling, almost dragging your feet,

your feet that are aching with loneliness.

You can not swim to the top, but your body won't stop moving along the floor and you can't help but wonder how this is all happening.

How can I feel such pain but not my movement?

How can I drown but never to death?

Why am I still alive at the bottom of this endless pit of water?

Your lungs are heavy with last night's thoughts and you forget the last time they were light and airy.

This ocean is too wide for just you, so you walk the floor until you find something.

You don't know what you're looking for, maybe a reef to rest, a boat for saving, a shark to put an end to your misery.

Your demise is not up to you.

POINT OF VIEW - a poem by TERESA PARISI

There's the city's skyscrapers,

mountains so high,

and airplanes that can touch the sky.

There are towering tress,

statues ten times your size,

oh I promise you darling you won't believe your eyes!

Now look at your problems,

they're too small to see,

when you're handing next to a Hyperion tree.

SCHOOL NEWS AND EVENTS- by JACOB TOTTEN

Homecoming Dance, Harvey, and other amazing things to come:

Homecoming Dance:

After ten years, the homecoming dance decides to come out of hibernation after a fellow student went to Mr. Chiaramonte, and said “bro, why don’t we have a homecoming dance”? Mr. Chiaramonte clearly took these words into consideration and thus, the Homecoming Dance will be on Thursday, October 16, at 7-10 at North. The theme will be New York City, there will be a chocolate fountain! And it’s only $10 for a ticket and they are selling out in Room D217. Dress to impress! And see you there.

Drama News:

The Drama Club’s first production this year will be “Harvey”. Auditions were already held and the list of roles will be posted on the bulletin board in the music wing on Monday, September 22nd. If you are in Drama, it would be advised to join the Sachem North Drama Club 2014-2015 group on Facebook for updates. So far it looks like it’s going to be a great year for performers and stage crew, good luck to everyone!

News regarding clubs:

The club fair on September 18th was a great success. The gym was full with many eager students and it looks like the new Gaming club got a lot of attention also. It’s good to see so many students taking roles in things they are actually interested in and ignoring the “haters”. Many clubs such as the Drama Club, and the Change Club are preparing for pep rally and/or Homecoming Dance so it seems like it’s going to be a great year for events, clubs, and student participation. Also, if you have any great ideas, student government are always willing to listen, don’t be afraid to spread your opinion. If you have a clear passion for helping other people, the Sachem Cares club is for you. There will be a meeting for electing officers on Monday, September 22nd. Anyone thinking about being a teacher, then come to the next Sachem Teachers of Tomorrow meeting which should be on Monday,  September 29th. Also, look out for announcements on other clubs you might be interested in.

Future Events:

An upcoming event as always will be the Thanksgiving food drive where we all work to together to donate food and money for families who are struggling. Last year, we had a great turn out and were able to feed so many families and broke an amazing record. Let’s double it this year! Sachem North will also be hosting the toy drive in December so please don’t throw out any toys, we might need them. Also, we will be having blood drives this year. In March, as always, we will be having March Madness.

DUSK FLOWERS: Chapter Two - a novel by GEORGIA RIVERA, 9th grade

  Her heart in her throat, Eliza peered over the edge of the bed. The woman was slumped face-down on the carpet, surrounded by a field of chipped glass. Eliza could very well scream again, but rationality finally conquered hysteria. She was going to call the police right now and they would come and then everything would be fine.

     She reached for her cell phone, only to grasp at empty space. Oh, right, she'd thrown it.

    Gingerly, Eliza stepped out of bed and into a pair of well-worn slippers. She didn't particularly feel like cutting her feet open. Nudging shards aside with her toes, she made her way across the small room towards the shattered window. The cool night air poured inside, sending a chill up Eliza's spine. She bent over in the semi-darkness, hunting with her hands for anything resembling a phone, but to no avail. She turned the light on, but still she couldn't find it. Maybe she'd thrown it out the window by mistake.

    A strangled groan came from the prone figure on the carpet. Eliza jumped, the sound almost shocking. What on earth would she do?

     Suddenly, she felt a strange compulsion to help the injured stranger, the woman who had just smashed her window and bled all over her brand-new blanket. She could still run and get the neighbors, but something told her that wouldn't be right. This woman was clearly a criminal, but she needed Eliza's help.

     But how do I do this? Eliza thought. She paced around the body, careful to avoid the glass. Bending down, she took the nameless woman under the arms and pulled hard. Surprisingly, she was able to lift the woman without much resistance. Moving carefully, like a tight-rope walker, she backed out of her room and down the short hallway to the bathroom. She could hear ragged breathing issuing from the body. Whoever this woman was, she was still alive.

     The only place Eliza could think to deposit the body was the bathtub. Struggling to lower the woman without injuring her further, Eliza managed to lay her in the basin. She looked like a corpse at an open-casket funeral, her high-boned cheeks deathly pale, a serene expression on her face. Her hair was very long, and for the most part loose, excepting the bottom, where it was twisted into a braid. Strangely, it was silver, like a freshly minted dime and it shone under the light of the bathroom's florescent bulbs. What kind of hair dye could do that?

     She wore shredded black rags. Was she a ninja? Eliza wondered, grabbing her meager first-aid kit from under the sink. While her own mother had enough creams, pills and bandages to run a pharmacy out of the bathroom, Eliza herself only owned a small amount of supplies. She found herself wondering if it would be enough. 

     Bending low over the tub, Eliza clicked open the plastic latch of the kit. Suddenly, the woman stirred, her eyes flickering open. They were sky-blue and endless, seeming to fill the room. "No police," she begged, "No roommates, no neighbors, no nothing. Just you." Her eyes slid shut again, like Venetian blinds blocking out the sky.

     "And who says I'll listen to you?" Eliza muttered weakly. But something about the way the woman spoke held her fast. She probably didn't have a choice now; She'd have to do this on her own.

     She didn't have any roommates anyway, which was a good thing. Most other people were so messy. Eliza herself would be the first person to admit she was a neat freak.

     The wound in the woman's ribs was deep, but not as bad as Eliza had been expecting. Even cleaned of the black, tar-like substance by a fistful of cotton-balls it was still gruesome to look at. Armed with a gauze pad, she swabbed the wound with whatever weak store-brand antibiotics she possessed and set about bandaging the laceration.

     The woman's nails were long and pointed, vaguely resembling claws. Eliza's mind began to truly wander. When, or if, the woman woke up, Eliza wanted answers. She also wanted a fixed window, clean sheets and an empty bathtub, but that clearly wasn't happening.

     Once she had finished wrapping the wound, strips of white gauze clumsily pasted underneath the woman's tatters, Eliza decided was was really nothing else she could do. The time on the stove read "6:24". She really couldn't go back to sleep now, even if she was, by some miracle, tired. It was Saturday. She wouldn't have to attend any classes or lectures, and nothing was due until Monday.

     Finding herself back in the bathroom, Eliza glanced down at the comatose figure in the tub. She thought hard. What would her mother do?

     May Panik had been a single mother. After her boyfriend, a "Wham-Bam Thank You Ma'am" kind of guy had had his fun, he left May to fend for herself with a baby, Eliza, on the way.

     Eliza truly thought her mother was the strongest woman in the world. Not only had she raised Eliza by herself, and done a fantastic job, but she'd more than filled the space a second parent should have taken up. When Eliza was young, May seemed like a superhero to the little girl. What would she do in a situation like this?

     But the truth was, Eliza was lost. For a start, she thought, this woman certainly can't recover in the bathtub. Pulling herself away from the enigmatic woman, Eliza went back to her bedroom. The moon had set, the first rays of sun beginning to creep over the horizon. Finding her thick, black glasses, Eliza slid them onto her face. Now she could get started properly.

     Once she had recovered a spare set of blankets from the depths of her closet, Eliza began to re-make the bed. Folding the cast off sheets, she placed them neatly in a hamper. Even if they're dirty, she thought, it doesn't hurt to be extra tidy.

     As soon as her bed was ready, Eliza moved the intruder into it. The woman's clothes were clearly ill-fitting and dirty, but Eliza doubted she had anything in the woman's size. She was at least a few inches taller than Eliza, her bones rising up at odd angles. She had a peaceful look about her as she slept. She has no right to that, Eliza thought grimly, heading for her postage-stamp kitchen.

     She was hungry, but surprise, surprise, there was absolutely nothing to eat. Eliza began to feel the panic rising up on her again. I am a college student, she thought, trying to calm herself down. I am 19 and I live in my own home and I should be able to deal with anything life throws at me.

      Except when that thing is a person through my window and no eggs or milk or bread or even a cookie for God's sake.

     Eliza dressed for the day in leggings and a t-shirt, running a brush through her blonde hair. Presentable, she decided. Taking some money from a jar in her room, Eliza threw a glance at the sleeping figure in her bed. She would be back from the store soon enough, with food and medical products. She checked the time again. Any decent convenience store would be open at 6:37 in the morning.

     The elevator ride was long and slow, but soon Eliza was out on the street. For March, it was surprisingly warm. The breeze from the bay filled Eliza's lungs. The city was starting to wake up around her, the air laced with the sounds of urban life; cars, street vendors, people everywhere waking up to meet the world.

     Screw New York and Paris and London; Boston was Eliza's favorite city and she wouldn't live anywhere else if you paid her to.

     A nearby Handy Pantry had what she was looking for and soon she was headed back to her apartment, the morning sun glimmering on the horizon.        

DUSK FLOWERS:Chapter One - a novel by GEORGIA RIVERA, 9th grade

     Eliza awoke to the sound of breaking glass. As she shot up into a sitting position, she was dazzled, blinded by light. The moon shone into her room like a celestial spotlight, bleaching her vision.

     Glass crunched. Her window had been smashed clear through. Eliza shook her head, shedding sleep. She must still be dreaming. What could possibly drop through the window of an apartment on the 19th floor of a building?

     Cold air pouring in from outside hit her like a bucket of ice. Eliza shivered. Maybe this wasn't a dream after all. Pushing the covers away, she moved to get out of bed. Whatever had happened, she'd better start cleaning up after it.

     Musical whispers of sound ghosted through the room. On the floor, glass fragments shifted. Eliza froze. There was something else in the room; An animal maybe. Eliza began to worry, despite all her self-directed urges to keep calm. What was she going to do? What if, God forbid, the thing were rabid?

     She looked back towards the window, her heart stopping instantly. A gaunt shadow rose slowly before her bed. The swollen moon illuminated the figure, transforming it into an ethereal shadow-puppet. It was eerily beautiful, in a way that sent chills down Eliza's spine.  

     There was someone in Eliza's home!

     Eliza tried hard to hold back all the thoughts struggling to surge through her mind. It was no good. There was someone in her apartment and if she just stood back, who knows what would happen?

    Eliza Panik did what she did best. She panicked.

    Like lightning, she snatched her cell phone from her end-table and lobbed it as hard as she could at the intruder. There was a harsh yelp of pain and the shadow swayed. Right on target. Grabbing the next object her hand found, the T.V. remote belonging to a small set near her bed, Eliza chucked it, her fingers crushing the buttons as she plucked it up.

     Calm light flowed into the room, the shadows rising back into the third dimension. Eliza gasped. The intruder, now attempting to lean on the foot of Eliza's bed, was a young woman. She shuffled her feet on the glass-coated floor for want of leverage. Lifting a hand, she rubbed at a bright mark on her forehead and winced. "You throw hard," She muttered in a gravelly voice, "That actually hurt."

     Eliza shrieked, the sound piercing through the night air. Now not only was there an intruder, there were stains on her perfect blue comforter! The woman seized, her eyes wild with urgency. "Be quiet! They'll hear!' She hissed. Who is she afraid of hearing? Eliza wondered, the police? Neighbors? People who would help her?

     She had readied herself for another scream when her eyes found the source of the black, inky stain spreading across the foot of her bed. She fell breathless. The substance flowed straight out of a massive gash in the intruder's gut. Noticing Eliza's gaping stare, the intruder shrugged. "It's not so bad," she said, "It's just a flesh wound."

      Then she grimaced, eyes rolling in their sockets, and sunk heavily to the floor.

      For the second time that night, Eliza shrieked.

"FOR SALE: BABY SHOES, NEVER WORN" - by JUDY CAPIRAL, 11th Grade

In my English class, we had to write a short story based off the six word story by Ernest Hemingway: For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.

Judy Capiral              9/4/14

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Well that sounds morbid.

Lily place the finished form on the desk and let the lady at the front accept it. She left the newspaper office and strolled back to her apartment. Expectedly, he was there.

“What do you want, Drake?” she asked, annoyed at his prescence.

“Where were you? I’ve been waiting for over an hour!” He stood up from the couch and stepped towards her. Instinctively, she took a step back and crossed her arms. If he did the same thing to her a year before, she would not have stepped away. “I sold a couple things at the thrift store,” she stated.

“All of them?”

“No, not the expensive ones. I put an ad in the newspaper to sell to a better buyer.” Drake’s mood changed, as did the light in his eyes. He sat back down and rested his head against his hands. This was the usual routine for them. Everytime they met, he sulked. She, however, lived with her life as normally as she could. It wasn’t like she was completely better, though. Drake had a way about him that let her know anything and everything. His eyes reflected his emotion. Lily kept her feelings in control, and preferred not to be read like an open book. She glanced at his hand, and saw he was still wearing the ring.

The phone rang, which startled both of them. She picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Jen. Are we still meeting up for lunch today?”

Lily sighed and replied, “It completely slipped my mind.” She made brief eye contact with Drake and answered Jen, “Sure, I’ll meet you at the usual place.”

Lily hung up and glanced again at Drake, who wasn’t looking at anything in particular. “I’m going out again. Is there anything you needed?” The look in his eyes answered the question, but she refused to hear it. They’ve had this conversation everyday since the separation and she was tired of it. Still, she felt obliged to ask, “Do you want me to get you something?” And there were his eyes again, a solid gray that consumed her soul like he knew just how to twist her stomach, and not in the entirely bad way. “No,” he spoke plainly.

“Alright then,” she excused herself and left without another word. She didn’t have the heart to kick him out. He wasn’t ready, so all she could do was give him time.

---

“How are things with Drake?” Jen asked as she took a sip from her drink.

“Not good,” Lily answered truthfully, “He’s still at my apartment.”

“Why didn’t you tell him to leave?”

“It’s too hard.”

“For him or for you?” Lily suddenly felt like she entered an intervention. “You know you still love him,” Jen assured.

“I can’t give him what he wants.”

“He doesn’t want a baby, Lily. He wants you! God knows you’re all he’s ever wanted!”

“But not what his family wants!” Lily snapped, “All they want is for their only son to have a family of his own, and I’m sure he’d like that too. If the doctor said I can never get pregnant, then I shouldn’t have to let Drake never have his chance at becoming a father.”

“So you’re just going to decline the option of adoption then?” Jen suggested.

“You know how his family is, Jen. They’re lunatics.” Lunatics wasn’t a word she would use for it, but it was Drake’s nicer version of what she wanted to call them. She briefly remembered the first time she met his family after a month of dating.

His dad, cold and relentless, immediately disapproved their relationship because she wasn’t “high society.” Not everyone could be born into the richest family in the area, and money shouldn’t even be a factor in dating anyone. His mother, whom she could tell where Drake got his looks from, was equally as bitter but nonetheless happy her son found someone. Upon their first dinner together, they managed to slip two words into the conversation multiple times: “Marriage” and “Family.”

Eventually, they did get married, and in the most reckless way possible. Getting eloped was not something his parents took lightly, but Drake and Lily were a lost cause. It was clear they were meant for each other, so for a while his parents were docile. Then the time came when they decided to have kids. But after months of trying, Lily decided to consult a doctor. She recalled every moment from when the doctor stepped into the office to when he ended the appointment with, “I’m so, so sorry.”

Drake was obviously upset, but not with her, and he made sure she knew it.

“Lily, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not!” she snapped at him, “It will never be okay!”

She took a handful of baby clothes and shoes from a dresser and tossed them on the floor. “We’ve been planning this for months, and after buying all these stupid clothes,” she sobbed. Kneeling to the floor, she picked up a pair of white, fancy baby shoes and looked at them sadly. He sat next to her and let her cry onto his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Drake,” she whimpered. He kissed her, and let her know that none of it was her fault.

The pain became worse when they told the news to his family. First they were shocked, and then they became angry. The couple tried to suggest adoption to them, but simply nothing could get through their thick skulls. They wanted blood grandchildren, and an adopted child, “Simply won’t do.”

It was worse when those thoughts followed the couple around for weeks until Lilly voiced them. “I can’t do this, Drake.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t let your family resent you for all of this.”

“Resent me for what? Not having a baby? There’s nothing we can do about it!”

“Yes there is. You need someone whom you can have kids with, someone who your family can accept with their blessing.”

“My parents don’t control me. I make my own decisions.”

“You want kids, Drake! You want a family! You deserve all of it, and with someone who can give that to you!”

“So, what? Are you saying you don’t want to be with me anymore?”

“No, that’s not-”

“That’s what it’s starting to sound like! Stop making such a big deal out of this! I want kids, of course I do! But if you can’t, then we just won’t have them!”

“I’m not going to be a ball and chain for you!” Lily started to cry. “I want you to be happy, and clearly you’re not.”

“Quit telling me what I am!”

“But it’s the truth and you know it! I’m a nuisance, I’m a bother, I’m unacceptable by your family standards! I should be nothing to you!” she yelled, “So let me make the decision for you, if you can’t decide it for yourself. It’s over, Drake. I’m done.”

In the end, it was her decision to end things. That’s why he came to her apartment everyday, hoping somehow that she’d realize that he could never truly move on. “I’ve talked to him about it before,” Jen explained, “He couldn’t care less what his family wants.”

“And what about what he wants?”

“Do I have to write it in the sky for you, Lily?” she complained, “He wants you.”

---

Lily opened the door and was relieved to see that he wasn’t still on the couch. However, just as she removed her coat, he stepped into the living room with a look of concern on his face. “I thought you were just going out for lunch,” he said as he checked his watch.

“I took a walk in the park afterwards,” she told him, “I just needed to do some thinking and- Wait, where’s your ring?”

He looked down at his hand and said, “I took it off. Same as you did.” She eyed him carefully. What was he playing at? “But, why?”

“The same reason you took yours off,” he challenged.

“You always have it on, though.”

“It’s not like you were giving yours much thought either.”

“Stop that!”

“Stop what?”

“Pretending like you don’t care!” she burst out.

“But neither do you.”

“Who says I don’t care?!”

“Care about what?”

“About you!” Lily wished she had the chance to stop the words from escaping her lips. A smile formed across Drake’s face. He shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned sheepishly. “This isn’t about the ring, Lilly,” he said too proudly, “You still care about me.” He took two steps towards her, and for the first time in weeks, she allowed it to happen without backing away. From his pocket, Drake pulled out the ring and stuck it on his finger. “You see? It’s still with me,” he said. Lily said nothing, and Drake took the opportunity to reach into her open bag at the side. His hand searched until he found the hidden pocket under the bottom.

Lily knew what he was about to pull out, and she still said nothing.

“I knew where you kept it, you know,” he revealed, “And it’s still with you too.”

“So? I keep a lot of things in my bag.” She snatched the ring away from him and put it back in her bag. Lily raced into the kitchen and set her things down at the table. She needed to breathe, and to put distance between them. “So are you planning on telling me what you were thinking about in the park, or did I really have to ask just now?” he startled her.

“I....needed your answer to a question,” she replied.

“What is it?”

She turned around to face him, “I never gave you a say in what happened, when we- I ended things. I made the decision to end things, because I thought you were better off. So, if you had the chance to convince me, what would you say?” He pondered her request. It was a lot to ask for in a question, and her mind and gut were at war about what he might say.

“My parents were part of an arranged marriage,” he began, “So any concept of love was out the window and turned them into the most cynical human beings you could ever meet. Having me was only part of the plan, but my parents need to see that there is still another budding apple on the tree before they can be at peace. That’s why they want me to have children. Growing up, it was hard for me to relate to anyone in a special bond because I’ve never witnessed what that was like. Then, as utterly cliché as it sounds, I met you. No, it wasn’t love at first sight, that doesn’t exist. In all honesty you were so annoying when we met-”

“Your point?”

“Right, sorry. Well when we met, I never realized how strong a connection like that could grow. And I fell in love with you, which was terrifying because I barely knew what love was. When you met my parents, we both knew how stupid they were for not seeing what was right in front of them. They may still have the vision of another apple on the tree, but all I ever really cared about was you. I’m not going to deny that I planned to have kids with you one day, but even if you can’t, that doesn’t change the way I feel about you. It still hasn’t.”

“So after everything I said to you, you would still take me back?”

“We’ve never really left each other, have we?” It was her turn to step forward, this time wrapping her arms around him and never wanting to let go. “I’m sorry, Drake,” she said to him.

“Don’t apologize,” he muttered as he hugged her back.

“I still love you.”

The light in his eyes came back to life, and she knew he was saying the same thing.

Northwind Club Meeting - Wednesday 9/17

The Northwind Newspaper Club will have our first club meeting on Wednesday, September 17th during 9th period in Room H111.  All students are welcome to attend.  See Mrs. Foran with any questions.