Gateway to Adventure

Looking out my window
I imagine
Where will I go?
What will I do?
Every plane trip I take
brings something new.

As we ascend,
I view the fluffy clouds.
I want to reach out and touch them-
What an adventure that would be!
Like a bird, flying high in the sky
Free.

Looking down on oceans so blue
I dream of taking a dive
In waters bright of hue.
They remind me of beaches
Long in my past.
Places I had loved
Trips that would never last.

My Spring Break 2017

My spring break this year wasn't too eventful.

We decided that, instead of going on a road trip like we usually do, my family was going to stay in Cincinnati and explore local places. We spent the week visiting the zoo, scouting locations in and around the city to take pictures at, and just enjoying our rare and precious free time. Along the way, we also found a few great restaurants. 

  One thing that I did, though, was spend a day with my friends. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch, where I tried Pho for the first time, and spent an hour talking, laughing and eating. 

After everyone was finished with their meals, we went back to my friend's house and spent a few hours taking pictures. We tried out fun techniques, like throwing flour in the air to make a cloudy effect, or using a hose and a ladder to make it look like it was raining. 

Even though I didn't do anything out of the ordinary over break, I had an amazing time with some amazing friends, and wouldn't trade that week for anything in the world. 

A Dog's Life

A dog’s life must be easy

Sleeping around all day.

A dog’s life must be easy

Only waking to play.

A dog’s life must be easy

No need to learn math.

A dog’s life must be easy

Their only problem is a bath.

A dog’s life must be easy

Little joys bring such blithe.

A dog’s life must be easy

Going on walks is their life.

A dog’s life must be easy

Never having to leave the house.

A dog’s life must be easy

The tiniest of apartments is their equivalent of a penthouse.

A dog’s life must be easy

But, I would say

While a dog’s life may be easy,

I’d rather be a human any day.

Dear Future President

This was written a month before the 2016 Presidential election. Enjoy!

 Dear Mr. or Madam President,

 

 Congratulations on winning this (very intense) election! I applaud you on your determination to attempt at making our country and world a better place. While there are many important issues that are being left out of the national spotlight, I believe three crucial matters are drug overdosage, immigration, and abortion rights.

 According to www.drugabuse.gov, over 25,000 people in the United Statements passed away from prescription drugs alone! That doesn’t even include the thousands of lives lost from cocaine or from the heroin epidemic. In all, www.teens.drugabuse.gov reports that in 2013, about 570,000 American lives were lost to these tempting yet horrible substances. I know that there are not many things you can do to prevent usage of these drugs- even with so many laws passed, there’s no way to completely get rid of this problem while people are still willing to use them, but there must be some way to prevent children from starting in the first place.

 I propose a mandatory week in all schools (Elementary, Middle and High schools alike) where health classes teach about the dangers of drugs and what the effects are.

  Immigration is just as big a problem as drugs. Innocent families are torn apart and people just looking for a better life are denied that privilege just because they weren’t born in, say, the next city over.

 Even though people are very against illegal immigrates, building a wall will not solve any problems. So please- make it easier to immigrate into our country, so deserving, innocent people don't get treated like dirt just because they didn't have the luck to be born somewhere else.

 The final thing I’d like to address is abortion rights. Please, for the love of all things equal and free, let women have the right to safe and accessible abortions. I should have the right to control my own body and make my own decisions- and not have ridiculous laws forced upon me by Congress members who most likely haven't or will not ever be able to have an abortion, due to the fact that 362 seats out of 438 are currently filled by men; as opposed to the 72 filled by women, the only gender that would actually be affected here. Even if it is banned, people will still find a way around it, and it most likely will not be a safe one. If people are going to have abortions, we want to make sure it's done safely and properly.

In parting, there is one final thing I’d like to say: please listen to the people of this country, and hear what we are saying.

Sincerely,

Ruby Sanchez

The Best (And Worst) Parts of Summer 2016

   (This piece was originally written in September 2016. Enjoy!)

    The worst part of this summer had to be that I had to take a break from dance. Last November I started taking ballet lessons every Wednesday; But during the summer I do swim team and, unfortunately, meets are on the exact same days and time as class.
  Getting up early to swim twenty plus laps a morning in not the most enjoyable, but it is satisfying. While I thoroughly enjoyed butterflying and freestyling up and down the pool lanes, I was eager to get back to working on my pirouettes and grande jetes.

   One of the best parts of summer was definitely my family's trip to California. We flew out to a cabin at Lake Tahoe to celebrate my thirteenth birthday, my sister’s ninth birthday and my Aunt and Uncle’s twentieth wedding anniversary. All of my Tias and Tios came, along with my Abulita and Abulito.

  Our family originally is from California, but since we moved out to Kentucky six years ago we only get to see our relatives a few special times a year. Whenever we get the chance to fly out to the East Coast we always have to do a few certain things, which include going to the beach and seeing the ocean. We also got to go to the county fair, which is something that I haven’t been able to do since I was six.

  Another thing that I enjoyed doing this summer vacation was going to camp. For the last four years I’ve attended my county’s 4-H camp, and have always made great memories and friends. This year I got to go rock climbing, ziplining and swimming, among other things. I also got to do some archery. For target practice, our instructor would tape different playing cards to our targets to give us something smaller and more difficult to aim for. I ended up getting a bullseye and two cards in a row!

   This summer had a few ups and downs, but in all was a lot of fun- I wouldn't change it for anything

My Ballet Journey

(Quick note- this piece was originally written 9/22/16. Thanks for reading!)

Yesterday I got my pointe shoes!

  Pointe shoes are a stiff type of ballet shoe that allow you to actually walk- and dance, obviously- on the tip of your foot. Being able to wear them is a big step in dance, so it meant a lot to me when my teacher told me that I was ready.

  I only started ballet in November of 2015, and when I was telling my friends about this new endeavor they mostly replied with, “You’re doing dance? You don’t seem like that kind of person...” But I proved them all wrong: I started, and now I’m never going back.

 Anyways, back to the subject on hand. Yesterday before class, I went to the local dance store, Fabulous Feet Dancewear, to get fitted. Fittings can last anywhere from thirty minutes to a few hours! It just depends on how many shoes you have to try on before you find the perfect match.

   I sat down and, after measuring my feet, the owner of the store brought out multiple pairs of shoes. The first pair was too short, the second too skinny, and the third too tight. Two hours passed this way, putting on and taking off over twenty pairs, until we finally narrowed it down to two pairs. One, a light, soft coral; the other, a skin-tone white. I went back and forth between the two, finally deciding on the better fitting pink.

  Now that I’ve picked them out, I still have a lot more work to do. Since everyone is built differently, pointe shoes don’t come with ribbons already on- you have to cut and hand sew them to the shoe, to match your needs specifically. The same has to be done to the elastic, to make sure that it isn't so tight as to cut off the circulation to your foot, or so loose that it falls right off your foot.

  Even though it will take a lot of hard work and determination to learn to dance en pointe, I am very excited to get started!

If My Life Were A Movie

If my life were a movie
Many places I would go.
California to Kentucky,
Union and San Francisco.

If my life were a movie
I would travel all around.
France and Thailand,
Adventures abound.

If my life were a movie
Many friends I would meet.
Autumn, Rachael and Jacqueline
With whom no one could compete.

If my life were a movie
Problems, there’d be a few.
Leaving home and missing friends
But happiness would ensue.

If my life were a movie
I’d dance the days away.
Pirouettes on pointe
Arabesques and grand jetes.

If my life were a movie
Great art I would make.
My sketchbook and pens in hand,
It’d be a piece of cake.

If my life were a movie
It wouldn’t be complete
Without the people in it,
Who make my days so sweet.




                                                           

Just Outside The Window

Just outside the window,
a strange thing lurks.
No, not there- not near or far.
It's hiding in plain sight, out in the murk.
It's off in the distance, yet ever so close.
The creature itself is more unusual than most.
Shrouded in shadows,
Followed by mystery
Ah, yes, it has quite a strange history.
You may know it
As the thing that lives under your bed,
The boogeyman, a scary ghost
That you thought lived only in your head.
That may be what your parents told you, yes-
To reassure you at night.
But you’re all alone now,
Just you and your fright.
So run, while you still can
Away from your nightmares
And hope to see another day.

Dreams

Dreams.

They flow from my mind,
Like a boat down a stream.

On and on they go,
Almost continuous, it seems.

Gentle but vivid,
Leaving me livid.
That they are just that- dreams.

No matter how bad the world
They’re always here
In my heart, near and dear.

I hold them tight
To rid me of my fright

But when I open my eyes
With no surprise, I realize

Dreams can't rid you
Of the nightmares that continue.

Dreams.

Why must such things
All be pretend?

All the good in the world,
Seems to live only in my head.

If I Were President

If I were President
There’d be a lot of change.
Rules would be made
Up with the minimum wage!

If I were President
There’d be no more wage gap.
Women paid equally
With time leftover for a catnap.

If I were President
I’d make a lot of laws.
Abortion would be legal
Without even a pause.

If I were President
Global Warming would be solved.
I would make the public aware
Everyone would be involved.

If I were President
The rich would pay more tax.
 The middle class shouldn't pay more when they can't afford it-
And that's a fact.

If I were President
Well, that’d be hard.
But I’d do what's right
No matter how I’d be scarred.

If You Could Go Anywhere, Where Would You Go?

Where would I go, if I had a free ticket to anywhere? 

Well, it's hard to answer that question. 

There are many places I've been,

 and many others that I want to go. 

There's my home, California

the Golden Gate, San Francisco. 

Then there's foreign cities

That I'd like to see again.

Paris, Bangkok

I wish those trips had no end. 

What's Your Favorite Season?

Spring
Buttercups, daisies, lilies
Spring’s gifts to the worldIrises, roses

Summer

Yay! Summer is here.

Warm sun, playing at the pool.

Isn't it so great?

Autumn
Now leaves are changing 

Colors red, orange and yellow
Bright and welcoming

Snow

Snow means a fresh start.

Blanketed in white, all’s new.

Calm, peaceful and clean.

Breakfast With A Side of Optimism

Orange juice, bacon, eggs
This is how to start your day
The breakfast of champs

A mug of coffee
Creamer, sugar, milk- just right
Ah, just what I need.

My ideal breakfast?
A side of optimism
Served with a smile

Introduction

Hello! Welcome to my blog.

My name is Ruby, and this is where I'll be sharing different pieces I've written for my Literature and Writing class. Genres range from prose to poetry, fiction to nonfiction. 
My interests include art, photography, music and dance. 
My favorite artistic media form, besides from photography, is colored or regular lead pencils.
My musical interests include 70's/80's pop/rock, some modern pop, and the musical Hamilton. 
I only started ballet in November of 2015, but have thrown myself into it wholeheartedly and just started dancing en pointe in October of 2016.
I thoroughly enjoy school and learning, but my favorite subject would have to be English- which is why I am very excited to be sharing my thoughts and ideas on here.
I hope you enjoy!