Proverb Poem

"You want weapons? We're in a library! Books! The best weapons in the world!"

-The Doctor

Books are fountains,
Knowledge flowing,
So powerful,
Yet ignored,
Each word a weapon,
Fighting injustice.

Memories

        Falling off a long-board is not the funnest experience. Especially if it happens on the morning of an important day. Not only did we have a presentation that morning, but it was my mom's birthday. The presentation was for a product idea we had made for a short program in grade 7 that we were doing on business. We were to present the operating system we had created called "Wall". Though I wasn't very excited - for obvious reasons - I was a little antsy. On a regular morning, I would walk down to the school bus stop which was about 30 seconds away from my house. But this time, I was taking my new long-board to school, and instead of walking, I was happily riding it down to the bus stop.

        I casually arrive at the bus stop and as soon as my friend sees me, he demands where my shirt and pants are. In a face-palm moment, I look down at my shorts and hoodie and think: "Aw crap!" We were supposed to dress in a white shirt and pants for the presentation. I hastily beg the bus driver to wait a few more minutes and as soon as he says OK, I jump on my long-board and race back to my house. As I push as hard as I can up the road, my foot gets a little to close to the board and the wheel rolls into it. Before I know it I'm flying off the ground and I land chin first on the ground. 

        Surprisingly I feel no pain, only my palms sting a little, so I get back up and dust myself off. As I'm about to get back on my long-board, my neighbor calls from across the street and asks if I'm OK. I say I am and push off once more. I arrive at my house and open the door and shouting up to my mom that I forgot that I'm supposed to wear a shirt and pants, but midway through speaking, I stop short. Shocked, I stare at the bloody mess across the bottom of my chin. Utterly dumbfounded, I stupidly call up to my mom: "Mum, I think you might have to drive me to school," as she appears at the top of the stairs. "Oh my god Miraal!" she cries as she sees me.

        I beg and beg my mom not to take me to the hospital, convincing her and myself that I'm perfectly fine. I hate hospitals. The smell of it, the look of it, everything about the hospital makes me want to run away as fast as I can and never look back. When I finally hope that I may have convinced her, my mom calls our neighbor over (the same one who had seen me fall) and she concludes that I do have to go to the hospital. So heart thumping, mind racing, I sit in the car as my mom drives me to the emergency room. We talk to the  receptionist and then take a seat in the waiting room. I'm already anxious and shaky, but my mom has to top it off by talking to man next to us who explains that he has a cut the size of a pinprick and how it has gotten so infected that he has to come in and get... I have no idea, because by that time I had zoned out, even more afraid than before. Just then, my name is called and we get up and follow the nurse.

        I enter a small room and the doctor instructs me to lie down on the bed. The doctor places a surgical bib under my chin and then leaves the room to get some equipment. I need 5 stitches. Time passes agonizingly slowly as I wait. When she comes back she takes out a needle and my heart stops as she gives me the injection in my chin. Next she takes out a needle and some sort of thread that dissolves over time. I close my eyes as she starts to stitch me up, and although I don't feel any pain, I feel the thread pulling and tugging under my skin. It felt horrible and unnatural. When it was finally over, a pad was taped over the cut and I left the hospital with antibiotic pills which I am told to take 2 of everyday. For the next few weeks I have to stay inside the classroom during lunch, not able to do anything but watch my friend play on his Nintendo DS and take my pills. After my chin had healed, my mom constantly reminded me of the amazing birthday gift I had given her - a trip to the hospital to have her son get stitches. Before I had fallen I had loved my long board. But now I just didn't love it as much, and since then, I've always gotten a bit nervous whenever I've used it. Although it wasn't the funnest experience, at least I'll never forget the presentation I missed, and the birthday I ruined, all because of a white shirt an pants.

Physical or Sedentary

I'm am very physical. I love playing soccer and exercising as much as I can, not only because it's healthy, but because it's fun and does exactly what Dr. Medina says: it improves my brain power. It helps me a lot in class to stop me from being bored and lazy. That's why in the morning I try to go out and play soccer for about 10 - 15 minutes before class. It gives me an energizing start to the day. Exercise also helps me to focus if I've got a test or quiz that day. As well, I like to play soccer after school because it refreshes my mind after the day and it gives me a break from work so that I'm not going straight to homework.