Celebration Essay

Kyla

Celebration Essay by: Alayna Schuler

Kyla is a 20 year-old beautiful girl. She has blonde hair with eyes that change color with the wind. One day they are blue and the next day they could be green. She is the most gorgeous girl I know. I also get the privilege of calling her my sister. Kyla is an outgoing person. She loves to show cattle and ride horse year round.  She is currently attending Ridgewater College in Willmar, Minnesota for nursing.

Kyla has been my best friend for 15 years now.  One thing I love about her is her will to push me to be better. In the summer, at cattle shows, we like to have a sisterly competition to see who is a better showman. I end up beating her most times. She is convinced that it’s because she trained my cow, but I like to think it’s because I’m just simply better. Someday I will face the fact that she really is better, but for now I’m just going to play dumb.

One story in particular when Kyla pushed me harder than anyone was  in August of 2015, the year I was a state champion showman. I had just gotten done with my call back round, the round where finalists are picked. I remember Kyla standing at the gate with a stern look on her face and the words of complaint spilling out of her mouth. “You want to win don’t you?” those are the only words that pushed me harder than ever. Winning that day was the biggest accomplishment, not for myself, but because I made my sister prouder than ever.

If I had to pick to compare Kyla to any animal, it would definitely be a horse. I chose this animal because of its beauty, spirit, and character. I’d definitely say that Kyla can be stubborn at times, but it’s all in how you come about the situation. If you ask nicely, she might do it, but most times you have to ask a few times to the point you are frustrated with her. Just like horses, Kyla is the most trustworthy person ever. You can tell her anything. She had been burned in the past, so it may take time and persistence trying to get her to trust you, but when you have it, it’s there forever.

If I ever lost Kyla, I would be devastated. She has been my sister for 15 years now. Yes we fight a little, okay a lot, but I couldn’t imagine life without her. She has been my rock for so many years and I hope many to come. We like to joke around with each other that she is going to be the rich doctor, and I’m gonna be the poor horse trainer, breaking bones all the time, living in her mansion.

I have thank Kyla for all she has taught me in life. She is my biggest role model, and I look up to her everyday. She has taught me to be brave and stand up for what I believe in, she has showed me what it is like to be a true child of God, and she also has shown what it’s like to be loved. Thank you, Kyla.

Memoir

My First Barrel Race

Memoir by: Alayna Schuler

The sun rose high above the ground, and the birds sang their song of happiness as I trailed out to the barn.

“Good morning girl. You ready to run?” she gave a soft nicker in response. Once my trainer pulled up in the driveway, with her blue F-250 and a sliver 4-Star trailer, I grabbed my horse, Feronda, and began walking her to the rig. Once we stepped out of the barn and into the sun, her jet black coat glistened in the blazing sun. She looked like an obsidian rock with legs. Her beauty was much more than I could fathom.

After I loaded Feronda up in the trailer, I leaped my way to the pick-up. Once we started our drive to Litchfield, M.N., I couldn’t help but think of how hard I’ve worked for this day. I’ve been practicing for months just to barrel race with the “big girls”, that's what I call them anyway. As we were driving, I just gazed out the window in amazement at the scenery. Tall trees traveled up for hundreds of feet and birds perched on them contently.

“What ya thinkin Laynie?” Tamie asked.

“Oh nothing much,” I answered, even though that wasn’t true. I was thinking about everything, but I couldn’t seem to find the magic spell to form the feelings into words.

After two hours of anxious waiting, we finally merged onto a gravel road. Driving down the road, dust spewing out from under the tries, my excitement turned into nerves. Millions of thoughts raced in and out of my head like, “What if I mess up?”

As we parked, I unloaded Feronda and securely tied her to the side of the trailer with a red hay bag.

“Let’s go get you signed up hun,” Tamie issued.

“Okay, coming.” We made our way through the long, thick grass up to a little booth.

“Hello, may I help you?” the nice lady asked.

“We are here to sign in,” Tamie told her.

“Okay names?”

“I’m Tamie and this here is Laynie.”

“Okay, thank you.” After we signed in, we trudged our way back the way we came. Once we got back to the trailer, I offered Feronda some ice cold water. While she was gulping down her water, I thought, “I guess I better have some too.” I grabbed for the water bottle sitting on the side of the trailer and began sipping on it.

Finally after hours and hours of waiting, it was time to get ready to run. I began brushing off all the little specks of dust lingering on Fernanda's back and watching them disappear in the warm summer heat. Then I climbed my way into the tack room and pulled down my tan saddle from the middle rack. As I placed the saddle on her back I could just sense that she was ready to run.

“Whoa, girl, it’s not time to run quite yet.” After those words came tumbling out of my mouth she immediately quietted. After we were ready, we made our way up to the arena where lots of other girls and their horses were standing. Suddenly the little knot in my stomach turned into a game of twister. I quickly reached down to pet Feronda on the neck, reassuring her we were okay, but I think I was doing that for me.

“Next up, Laynie Schuler, riding Feronda,” the announcer bellowed. Once I heard those words I thought I was going to puke, but I didn’t I just kept my head up.

I eased Feronda up to the freshly dug alleyway where she got a little jumpy, but I easily got her to calm down.

“Okay, Laynie, remember to get your hand down coming into first,” Tamie told me as I justed the alleyway. I nodded in agreement.

“Let’s go get them girl,” I whispered to Feronda, and just like that we were off. As we raced toward first, I got my hand down and rounded the first barrel perfectly, and same with the second and third barrels.  On our race home, I felt free and alive.  I felt as if I just conquered the world. I was definitely on cloud-9 that day.

Compare and Contrast Essay

Jungle vs. Desert

Compare and Contrast Essay by: Alayna Schuler

Have you ever wondered how two very different parts of the world could be similar? Well the jungle and the desert can be very similar if you take a look from a new perspective.

The jungle is a very wet and humid place located near the equator. On the other hand the desert is very dry and located away from a coast. I know it’s funny to think about such a dry place located near a coast, but it is far enough off the coast to where the oceans moisture doesn’t reach.

The desert and the jungle both contain wild life. The desert animals are very dull colored, like the lizard, to avoid the sun’s burning rays. Desert animals also have to be very hardy. That means they have to be able to survive with little water. Some burrow into the moist soil to avoid losing water. Others lick the dew off the plants in the cool morning. One of the desert animal, the camel, cannot store water in their humps as the myth states. Their humps are simply filled with fat helping them lower their temperature throughout the rest of their body causing them not to drink as much.

Jungle animals on the other hand are very bright and colorful because the vegetation is so vibrant. Most animals in the jungle use camouflage to hide from unwanted guests. The most common animal that we all know that can camouflage itself is the chameleon. The chameleon has the ability to take the color of anything to hide itself.

As you know the jungle gets a lot of rain, but a desert also gets rain too. It gets anywhere from 80 to 400 inches a year. A desert only gets less than ten inches a year.

The climate in the desert is very hot. The temperature can range anywhere from 64 to 120 degrees fahrenheit. The jungle’s temperature usually stays around 80 degrees fahrenheit. The temperature has never dropped below 64 degrees.  

As you know people think of the jungle and the desert as two completely different things, but they actually can be quite similar.

Both the desert and the jungle have trees. The jungle as super tall trees, like the Strangler Fig. The Strangler fig is named after the pattern of growth upon host trees. It stands about 148 feet tall. Many desert animals are close to the ground and contain thorns. This is because the thorns help them collect moisture.

School Uniforms

School Uniforms

Persuasive Essay by: Alayna Schuler

Do you ever feel like you just don’t fit in? Nineteen percent of all schools nationwide enforce students to wear uniforms. School uniforms return the focus back to learning rather than clothing.

School uniforms bring unity to the school. Schools that enforce this rule have a lower rate of school intruding because when looking down the hallway everyone looks the same. If there were someone wanting to insure he or she would be easily spotted. The school uniforms also avoid inappropriate dressing from teens, because they have a set dress code in which they can not stray from.

School uniforms also minimize ethnic barriers. When teens, especially girls, are all forced to wear the same exact things it lowers the formation of cliques. Girls are usually defined by their clothing, and when they all look the same they tend to be less judgmental. A lot of girls can’t afford to keep up with the newest trends, but with school uniforms they don’t have to.  

School uniforms increase academic ability in students. In Kenya, students who were randomly given uniform had increased test and attendance scores. Also, a school in Texas saw the same thing in their students just recently after they started the uniform policy.

Across the United States schools have noticed less and less behavioral issues. In Los Angeles, gang activity is a real problem in the schools, but school uniforms have prohibited them from wearing their gang colors.

School that recently switched to uniforms have saw many emotional effects upon their students. In Memphis, Tennessee, teachers saw a decrease in competition among in their students. In Kansas City, Missouri, teachers and parents notices the students had a burst of self-esteem and school pride, when the schools implemented a dress code.

School uniforms alleviate many financial concerns. Many parents are worried about the cost of uniforms for their children. A 1998 study in the USA Today reported that parents spent less on on uniforms than clothes for school. However, a 2007 study reported that some parents tended to pay more for school uniforms than regular cloths for their children.  This is because the cost of the uniforms all depend on how fancy your school goes with them. Uniforms that require basic pants or a skirt with a polo shirt will be less expensive than specially designed uniforms.

Long term studies of school uniforms are just beginning to appear and most of them bring a story of success, there are one or two that don’t have a positive result. Beyond statistics, schools, parents and students have to look to individual school’s problem and population to determine whether the uniforms bring a positive impact or not. Overall school uniforms bring an image of success to the school, and all those who don’t like it can move to a school who doesn’t enforce this policy.

Wild Girl Book Review

Wild Girl Book Review

Have you ever wondered what it is like to come to a different country? Wild Girl is a realistic fiction book written by a two-time Newbery Honor-winning author, Patricia Reilly Giff.

Lidie is a young girl whose mother died many years ago. After her mother died, Lidie’s father and brother move to  New York. Lidie loves riding horses in the field behind her house, feeling the fresh air, of Jales, Brazil, brush across her face, and smelling the fresh scent of the lemon trees just over the bend. She dreams of one day going to live with her father and race horses.

When Lidie turns twelve, she leaves her home in Jales, Brazil to go live with her father in Queens, New York. Her father runs a stable at a famous race track, and her brother is training to be a jockey.  

When Lidie finally gets to New York, she is reunited with her brother and father after five long years apart, but nothing was the same. When they left Jales to go to New York, Lidie was very young. One thing her father asked her to bring to him when she comes to New York was a lemon off the tree in Jales. Lidie did just that. She brought a lemon with her, but her father doesn’t even really remember. Lidie tries to make things as they left off, but she discovers nothing would be the same without her beloved mother.

One thing I really love about the story Wild Girl is the setting. I love that it has things to do with horses. Ever since a young age, Lidie’s passion was horses. While she’s in America, she falls in love with this dapple grey filly named Wild Girl. She longs of riding this little filly in a race one day, but her father and brother don’t even think she can ride. Instead they got Lidie an old run down horse named Love Yourself for her to learn how to ride on or so they think.  Lidie longs to race this little grey, but no one believes she is capable of it.

Lidie later discovers that her brother, who’s a jockey, is getting too tall to ride race horses anymore. She tries in every way to figure out a way to race her father's horse, Dorce, in the next dig race. Lidie is a very determined girl and no matter how hard the task is she will always find a way to conquer it. The attitude Lidie uses to concur that issue should help all girls to relate to because not only boys can overcome challenges.

This story has two perspectives: the little fillie’s and Lidie’s. The author of this book did a really good job of making this book easy to follow. Even though it had two different perspectives, I never once had trouble figuring out if Lidie or Wild Girl was talking. This book is interesting because the author makes the filly talk because you could get to know its personality. Every horse has its own personality, and it is important that people understand that.

When the book talked in the perspective of Wild Girl, it gives a much needed change in the book. This book can get a little slow paced, and I got bored once in a while. When they changed to the perspective of the filly, Wild Girl, it just made the book fun to read again because this little filly is full of life and emotion. The author does a really nice job of putting a picture in your mind of the little filly.

Overall this book was a well written book. The inseparable bond between man and equine, and that anything is possible with a little determination and that's why I love this book so much.

Even in the Darkest of Times there is always a Ray of Sun

The sound of silence ringing in my ear. The whimpering of my prayers echoed in the air. “How did I get here,” I asked myself over and over again; however, this is not how my story begins.

“Zoey?” my mom called.

“What mommy?”

“Go feed Jet.”

“Ok,” Jet was my seven year-old thoroughbred stud. We call him Jet because of his pitch black coat that shimmers in the sun. Jet has been my best friend for 3 years now. As I trudged down to the big brick barn, I am met by my bright faced and giddy dog, Maggie. I hurry my pace as I reach closer to the barn. I can hear Jet soft nicker as I approach the stall.

“Hey, Boy, you hungry?” I asked. I began to break open the tightly bound hay bale and stuff it into a bag for Jet. After that I opened the tub with the dust pellets for him. I began scooping them into a black rubber pan for him.

“Zoey!” my mom called

“Coming!” I eagerly took off for the house to see what my mom was so anxious about. Once I got inside I quickly slip off my pink, well used to be pink, muck boots and jump up the stairs and find my mom standing eagerly in the kitchen doorway.  

“What Mom?” I asked.

“You were invited to the American Qualifier Round!”  I just stood there speechless when I heard the words trickle out of my mom’s mouth. I thought to myself, “Why me? Am I really that good?” Throughout the day that thought jumped in and out of my head. The one and only thing I became focused one was practicing and keeping Jet in top condition.

The next three weeks flew by and all I was thinking about was this moment, actually being at the Qualifiers. We pulled into an old rodeo grounds in Oklahoma. I peered out the window and see massive trailers and some of the top horses in the world.  I felt instantly as if I didn't belong. Everyone had huge fancy trailers pulled by the newest pickups, but we pulled in with our little fiery red bumper pull and rusted out truck. Immediately my heart sank.

“What am I doing here?” I murmured, “I think I made a mistake on coming here.”

“What did you say?” Mom asked in surprise. I just kept staring out the window acting like I didn’t hear her.  Finally we parked. I picked myself up off the black vinyl seats, and drag my butt to the back of the trailer to unload Jet. I unloaded and tied him to the trailer with a hay bag for him to munch on. As he was standing there patiently waiting for the race I began find things to do to keep myself occupied. I tried to keep myself as busy as possible just so I wouldn’t have a nervous breakdown.  

“Zoey, start getting jet ready,” Mom barked.  I began by brushing his shimmering coat, brushing out his tail, and braiding his long flowing mane into tight small braids. I put my Martin saddle with my Quincy tack set on him. I took a big breath and sighed, still in awe of what was going on. I brushed off my pants and patted Jet’s neck. All of this was actually happening and it was go time.

“All barrel racers come up to the arena,” the announcer called. My stomach began to turn and the little butterflies fluttering around in my stomach grew into elephants with wings.

“Number 147, Zoey, you're up,” the gate man stuttered as he almost got ran over by the nervous horse coming out of the arena.

“Ok, Jet, lets show ‘em what we got.”  As I eased Jet up to the gate he began to feel my ambition and began to prance about. After I finally got him to settle back down I approached the gate once more, but now all I heard was the pounding of my own heart and the Jet’s hooves striking the ground. Then just like that I placed my hands on Jet’s neck and he was off, racing for the first barrel. We rounded the first barrel perfectly, and so on. On our way home I remember the feeling of joy rushing through my veins, and the sound for rolling thunder coming from under Jet’s feet. As I rounded him off to a stop at the end of the arena I felt nothing but sheer happiness; I felt as though, Jet and I, together, could conquer the world. I glanced at our time and was overjoyed we had qualified for the American rodeo. I was ecstatic. I worked so hard for this moment and now I finally had a shot at it. My dreams were slowly becoming a reality.  

When I got back to the trailer I gave Jet the biggest bear hug ever. He was the only reason I am where I am right now.

“Ok, Zo, lets hit the road, we have a long drive home.” I hopped in the truck and was out like a light before we even left Oklahoma.

It was a week before the American Rodeo and I was out practicing with Jet, trying to get him in top running condition even though it was raining. I was always nervous about running barrels in the rain, but I had to do what I had to do. As we round the third barrel the footing gave out and Jet’s foot hit muck and he stumbled to the ground.

“Jet, no!” I shouted, “get up! Please! Mom!” a dozen thoughts popped into my head, but were immediately shoved to the side as the only thing I was worried about was Jet.  As my mom was calling the vet I sat right by my best friend never leaving him. When the vet got there she examined Jet’s soaking body, he was shaking and his breaths were shallow. The vet pulled my mom aside and the two began to whisper. I could not make out everything they were saying but my heart shattered when watched the words “put down” roll out of the vet’s mouth.

I began to bawl. Jet was my one and only. I wouldn’t be where I am without him. As the vet injected the shot to stop Jet’s heart I remember just holding his head in my lap whispering in his ear, “thank you Jet. I will always love you.” Within a matter of seconds he was gone. I was filled with sorrow for the loss of my best friend, also ease knowing he was put out of all misery.

The following week my mom and I took the car down to the American Finals. It was a tough drive, looking in the rearview mirror and not seeing Jet’s black nose sticking out of old bumper pull. We reach the rodeo grounds and I look out and see everyone working their horses and I was immediately hit by a wave of depression. I look, teary eyed, at my mom pleading to go home. She gave me a hug and we stood there and watched the cowgirls race their horses. All of the sudden I felt a nudge on my back and I whipped around to see a woman standing there with the most stunning colt I have seen in my whole life. I about passed out when my mom looked and me and told me that he was mine. She explained to me that this was the last baby that my beloved Jet had fathered. My eyes began to water as I wrapped my arms around the colts soft neck. I felt at peace,  I know that Jet would want me to be happy and to be able to love something as much as he loved me; and I plan to do just that.  Even in the darkest of times there is always a ray of sun that penetrates through the darkness bringing in light.

Farm Life

Farm Life

The sound of clock laughter fills the house.

Pitter

Patter

the sleepy children make their way down the creaky cracked steps.  

The chickens disappear into the bubbling darkness only to get lost in the fog bushes, but they return to the sound of the yelling feed bucket that guides them through the ticket.

The cattle tred around in the crushed mud trying not to get stuck.

BANG!

Dad’s shotgun sent a tottering sheek into the flap of branches as he drug out a nice buck.

The rank horses trot around the half shaded roses.

They dash for the giggling gopher by wraps of apples.

The gopher doges them, laughing at their failure.

The pigs rut around in the icy mud. They get up and head for the fantastic slop freshly brewed.

Munch

Munch

The gooey grossness spills out the sides of their mouth as they try to engulf all of it at once.  

The noise of the gaggle of geese run in the clouds.

Snapshots of laughter fill the air as the kids play on the  playground.

The shining sun shone on the busy farm. It’s going to be a good day