Best Writing of Freshman Year #2

The Joy Luck Club Analysis
Stuck in a small, dark room, your dad has been detained. A strange man is questioning and asking: follow Chairman Mao, or stay loyal to your family? This is Ji-li’s struggle in Red Scarf Girl. You are abducted from your bed and taken to an unknown location. You witness brutal attacks and murders. You wonder: should I follow the rebels in Uganda, or try to save my childhood? This is the struggle of many “Invisible Children” in Africa. Hearing stories about your mother’s life in China, but seeing a different world around you. You ask yourself: should I follow the culture I am in, or adapt to the culture of your immigrant parents? This is the main struggle of the four daughters in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. Their mothers are stubborn in their old Chinese ways, while their daughters, however, are much more fit to the American way of life. The struggle between these Chinese immigrants and their American-born daughters symbolizes the struggle between Chinese and American cultures.

The American-born daughters have a very different idea about the dynamics of a marriage than their mothers. The daughters, along with most Americans, believe that a wife should be equal to her husband. The mothers, raised in China, believe the opposite. As a young wife in China, one of the mothers is scolded by her mother-in-law: “Bad wife! If you refuse to sleep with my son, I refuse to feed or clothe you” (61). At that time, a woman was to become a wife and bear many sons. This is still true in China today, where almost all marriages and families and patriarchal, and some are even still arranged. Every single mother, at some point in the story, tells her daughter to be a good wife and obey her husband. This is one of causes of most of the conflicts between the mothers and daughters. This is also a cultural clash between China and the United States. The mothers’ marriages and most Chinese relationships are patriarchal, while most women in the United States including the four daughters are more independent thinkers.

The daughters’ independent thinking leads them to stray from other advice given by their mothers as well. The mothers think, like all Chinese mothers, that their daughters should be completely obedient to them. “Only two kinds of daughters, those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!” (142). This is the traditional Chinese way of thinking, but in America, children are encouraged to follow their dreams, and often told they can be anything they want to if they put their mind to it. The mothers’ wanting obedience of their daughters is like the Communist Chinese government wanting obedience of the Chinese people. Likewise, the daughters being more drawn to freedom and thinking independently is like the freedom of Americans under the Democratic government. This is both a cultural and political clash between the two countries.

The one thing the mothers and daughters did not clash on was the fact that they needed to be the best. The mothers pitted their daughters against each other from a young age. They competed in everything, from grades in school to things like chess and piano. The daughters were just as determined to outshine each other as the moms were. Americans are also very competitive in everything from sports to the workplace. In this same way, America competes with China for power, influence, and other status symbols. These competitive instances occur in politics, culture, sports, and especially the education of the youth of the two countries. Through these competitions, the two countries push each other to advance even further.

One way America has become more advanced than China is in regards to the acceptance of women in the society. Americans have developed many new ways of thinking while China is still stuck on many of their old ideas. Women and their opinions are held in higher esteem in the United States than they are in China. “For woman is yin, the darkness within, where untempered passions lie. And man is yang, bright truth lighting our minds” (81). Chinese focus on the fact that women are not as valuable as men. The mothers tell their daughters things like this, emphasizing the lower opinions of women, like what many other young girls are taught in China. Americans are more open-minded about the equality of women; now there are even many women in the leadership of the country. The United States is progressing toward equality between men and women much faster than China.

This progression says a lot about American culture. The United States were started by explorers, unafraid of new things. They expanded to the west for this same reason. This confidence and leadership has continued through the years, in the people and government. People in America are not afraid to stand up for themselves, and make the decisions that are best from them. Similarly, Ji-li chose to stay loyal to her family. Many “Invisible Children” ran from the Ugandan Rebels to save their lives. The daughters of The Joy Luck Club were able to stay independent and become American. They acted as leaders, not followers, just as the United States does almost every day in world relations.

Best Writing of Freshman Year #1

Oil Spill Article Response

A plane crashes; everyone rushes to find out more details, and more safety regulations are put in place. A terrorist attack occurs; there is a scramble to discover the source and exact target, then more security is put in airports. However, when there is an almost unfathomable amount of oil gushing from the earth’s crust into the Gulf of Mexico, other companies just keep on digging. Oil is the driving force of our world. The amount of oil consumed globally on a daily basis is staggering. The huge need for oil has created a huge oil industry. This industry is beneficial, however, involves some of the most dangerous jobs on the planet. The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was a perfect showing of just how dangerous it can get. The government should temporarily stop all digging and get the industry regulated, then look further into alternative energy sources.


Although all drilling is supposed to be halted while an investigation of the rig that exploded is conducted, it is continuing. “At least six of the drilling projects that have been given waivers in the past four weeks are for waters that are deeper-and therefore more difficult and dangerous-than where Deepwater Horizon was operating,” says Ian Urbina in “Despite Obama’s Moratorium, Drilling Projects Move Ahead.” They not only are continuing to drill, but embarking on even more challenging digs. With so much damage to our environment already done, the last thing we need is more rig explosions like this past one. Officially, no new drilling projects were to be started after April 20, 2010, because of the explosion. “However, Newfield Exploration Company has confirmed that it began drilling a deep-water well in 2,095 feet of water after April 20,” Urbina states. Our government needs to actually step in now. All digging needs to be temporally stopped along with the issuing of permits and waivers to oil companies. An investigation as to the exact cause of this recent explosion needs to be carried out. New regulations should be placed not only on rigs in the gulf, but all around the world so that an event like this can be prevented in the future. And finally, we need to turn our focus away from oil to new energy sources.

The only way to be sure something like this doesn’t happen again is to move away from oil and start looking more at renewable energy sources. Not only will these greatly improve our environment, they will also ensure that we will not run out of energy as soon as we run out of oil. The research and eventually production of these new fuel options will secure our future on the Earth. Once we use up all our oil, it is gone forever. Corn, however, can be grown again and again. From corn, we can get ethanol, a useful form of energy. This along with other new research on the subject should be used to find the best way to make efficient fuel that can be used in place of or alongside gasoline.

Some people would argue that alternative fuel sources are a bad idea and very impractical because of the cost. They may not be aware of the cost it takes to run an oil dig operation every day. By using less fuel, the amount of drilling would be lessened along with the cost, and it would end up costing about the same as what we are paying now. Some also say that the drilling in the gulf should continue as normal. They believe that even if we stop for one week, we will run out of oil. This is not true; we have some stored and could import it if absolutely necessary. Then there is the complete opposite side that we need to stop off-shore drilling totally. This option is impossible without having some kind of backup source of oil.

Silly Bandz

The schools have made the right decision in banning Silly Bandz from the classroom.


These bracelets, although cute and entertaining, are a distraction to the learning environment. I had never heard of these bands until about a month ago, and suddenly, they are everywhere. I have seen little kids, high school students, and even some parents wearing this new trend. I see so many kids in my classes distracted by them that I can only imagine how much of this occurs in middle schools. A few of my teachers have said that they will take them away if anyone has them off their wrists. Kids are always trading them and showing off which shapes they have. Some people want to borrow a certain shape for day, but will get upset when they have to give it back. And these are people my age! I can see how much of a distraction they are. They may be a big deal now, however, I am sure in a year or two, the fad will pass. We will all be wondering why we ever wore them in the first place. For now though, I will continue to wear my yellow duck bracelet, but I’ll be sure not to let it distract from the classroom.

Injuries

Being injured is really not fun at all. I experienced this last year when I separated my growth plate from the bottom of my fibula. My ankle was the size of a baseball and it hurt for about really bad for about three months after, while I was on crutches. It still hurts on occasion. As I started track season this year, I was hoping, that if nothing else, I wouldn’t get hurt. I also dance, and one day in class, as we were doing an exercise, I felt a pop in my leg. I knew that couldn’t be good. The top of my hamstring hurt extremely badly. I stretched it out and out ice and heat on it, and after a few days it was feeling better.

Just as I was feeling okay again, my fears came true. I am normally a high jumper, and one day, my track coach told me to try long jump, which I have done in the past. We had a low hurdle out that helps you jump higher, so you can go farther. I approached the pit and jumped, throwing my arms up as hard as I could. I landed, and my right arm didn’t come back down. When I threw my arms up, my shoulder dislocated. I was in so much pain I couldn’t take it. I needed to get it back in place, so that’s exactly what I did. I bent over and pulled my arm back into place. That hurt more than when it came out. My friend Marci called over our coach as soon as she saw my shoulder. Everyone was in shock. I walked over to the training room to see Joe, my shoulder throbbing. He wasn’t there. He had gone to take water to the baseball and softball players. A few people in the room got me ice.

I held the ice on until Joe finally arrived. He started to evaluate my injury, asking me to move my arm in all directions. I could barely move it at all. He had me lay down on one of the tables and completely relax my whole right arm. Then he tried moving it, and I went a lot further in every direction than when I tried to do it on my own. As he was getting me a fresh ice bag, he told me that I had dislocated my shoulder but he didn’t think I majorly tore anything. I guess that was good news. He wrapped the ice on, gave me a sling, and after taking to my mom and my coach, sent me home.

That was four weeks ago and my shoulder still hurts. I have been high jumping, but I have a brace to wear while doing it. I won’t be able to practice with the team for the rest of the season. I just hope that getting injured won’t become an annual occurrence.

SIMUN

I really enjoyed the SIMUN experience. It gave me a better understanding about how things actually go in the United Nations. I think I did pretty well in the simulation. As Russia, I was required to speak pretty often and be involved in each scenario. At first, I was nervous for this, but after the first day, I got the hang of it. My favorite part of SIMUN was going into caucus. It was interesting to be able to informally communicate with other delegates whether they agreed with me or not. During every caucus, I heard some really good points, and adjusted my stance to fit in with the current happenings. Overall, SIMUN was a really fun three days.


The part of SIMUN that was not fun at all was the preparation. It was rather time consuming and not always the most interesting. I did, however learn a good amount of interesting useful information. The most helpful part of the graded preparation was the research on the four prep questions. Since they were directly related to the scenarios we were doing, they helped me the most when it came to the actual simulation. Sometimes, during that research, it was hard to find reliable resources to use. I never realized how many inaccurate websites there were. Most of the websites on the handouts we received were helpful in researching both the scenario background and my country’s recent history. I learned very much about Russia I never knew before, especially how they would respond in certain world crises, which is really the most important information to know going into the simulation. Reading over and memorizing Parliamentary Procedure was also a main part of my preparation, and one of the things I was most nervous about going in. The day right before SIMUN, when we did a mock crisis in class really helped with the procedure and what to say when.

For SIMUN next year, there are couple more things I would research. The main one would be to find all my countries allies and enemies and make sure I know who they are when we get to the simulation. This year, I knew Russia’s main allies and enemies, but not all of them. Knowing this would have helped me when it came to recruiting the smaller countries to join my side of the argument. I would have known how to better convince them and which ones to target in the first place. SIMUN was a very good experience, and after my first year of SIMUN, I am seriously considering attending MAMUN next year.

SIMUN blog

Responding as a Russian delegate:

As Russia in this situation, I am starting to prepare my army, but as of now, have no plan to send troops into Pakistan. I am going to focus mainly on my own country and the security of my government, people, and own nuclear weapons. I do not have any problems with the United States stepping in to control this chaotic situation, but rather support their decision. I think someone needed to step in just as the United States did. Some would say this was a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, but without that extra support, there is no doubt that the Taliban would succeed in their efforts and end up with the nuclear weapons. This would most likely be the end of the world as we know it.

If anything, I am worried that the terrorist and rebel groups in Chechnya might get some idea from the Taliban. They might try a similar tactic to retrieve nuclear weapons, jeopardizing the stability of my government and my citizens’ lives. Although they probably wouldn’t attempt to overthrow my government, they may go after an easier target and then threaten me with their newly acquired weapons. I am mostly preparing my armed forces for the possibility that this situation does elevate and start to spread. If the Taliban did end up with Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, I would be much more concerned for the safety and security of my country than I am now. At this time, however, I am preparing my forces to fight just in case, and to show Chechnya that I will not be an easy target.

Joy Luck Club freewrite

The Joy Luck Club is a tale of four women immigrants from China and their daughters. They each have a unique, interesting story of their cultural backgrounds and how they adjust to the United States. As the story goes on, their four stories blend together and the reader is exposed to a deep insight into China’s long, traditional history and the hardship of adjusting to the modern America.


Much of the culture revolves around women being inferior. They believe that every woman should be a good wife, taking care of her husband’s every need. Women cannot express any opinions or wants they have. This would be considered selfish. All the mothers of the Joy Luck Club were raised on that kind of thought. They still follow it now that they have come to California. The daughters, however, have been exposed to a more modern world where women actually have a say in things and are almost completely equal with men. They have a hard time convincing their moms that this new way is acceptable as well as the traditional way of thinking.

Divorce is generally not an option to the mothers of this story. Most of the daughters are having marital problems and really have nowhere to turn but divorce. As each of the daughters tells her mom, accusations come out as to why the marriage has failed. Most of these ideas occur in the daughters’ heads. They remember little superstitions their mothers had told them as little girls. For example, every grain of rice you don’t eat will make a pockmark on your husband. The more pockmarks a man has, the worse of a man he is. At first glance, this is a way to get kids to finish eating. However, as her marriage is falling apart, one of the daughters remembers this, and how she reacted when her mom first told her. She starts to blame all her problems on this theory.

High Jump

“It’s all about the up; it’s all about the up.” The phrase I had heard so many times before echoed in my head once again.


“Koessler in the hole,” the official announced. I got up, really in the zone now. As I took off my sweats, the icy breeze stung my bare legs.

*Clang* I heard the bar hit the ground. “Yes!” I thought. Now I just had to jump one other girl and I had the win.

“Murphy up; Koessler on deck.” My last competitor was about to jump. I was only focused on myself, however. I couldn’t even watch her. I was turned away from the high jump pit, stretching on the ground. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I heard Mary Murphy start her approach towards the bar. But then: nothing.

“Oh no,” I thought, “She made it over.” I turned to check on my suspicion, but my opponent was walking back to her mark. She hadn’t even jumped yet. She approached again. But she didn’t jump. I knew exactly what she was thinking. I do the same thing when I approach higher heights. I just psych myself out when I know I am going for a height I haven’t cleared before. As much as I try to tell myself I can do it, as I am sprinting my fastest around the “J” curve towards the bar, my mind tells me I can’t do it. I knew she was doing the same thing.

I, however, was not gaining anything from her delay. Freezing cold and slight rain are not the best conditions to jump in, especially at the CYO Championship Meet. I had so much riding on this one meet. Everyone was expecting me to win and I going for a personal record.

Mary approached the bar again, and again turned away. She looked to her coach for help. He gave her a quick pep talk, she only had two minutes to complete her jump or she would automatically forfeit. She went to her mark, ran, and jumped, rather pitifully, not getting anywhere close to clearing it. I was so happy inside I could barely contain myself. But I knew I had to stay focused. I still had a record to chase.

I was nervous as I stepped up to my mark. This was my third attempt at 4’11”, a height I usually easily clear. I ran, jumped my hardest, driving my knee and throwing my arm up. I arched, piked, and landed on the mat. I cleared it. Everyone watching started cheering, but I still wasn’t done. Now I got to choose by how much the bar moved up.

“Five feet,” I announced. They moved the bar up. This was my personal record – on a good day with nice weather. I decided I just needed to go for it as hard as I possibly could. At this point, there were not many other events going on. Many people were crowded around the high jump, not making it any easier. I knew many people were cheering for me, and my coaches must have been yelling instructions at me, but I tuned everything out. I had to focus. I jumped and made it over. It felt effortless, and I was ready to go for a new height.

As they moved the bar up, I was trying to stretch and stay warm. Now it was time to focus. I couldn’t psych myself out. Not now. I stepped up to my mark. The whole area became silent. I started running. Counting steps. Turned the corner. Three more steps. Plant left foot. Drive right knee. Throw my body in the air. Arch. Head back. Pike. Hit the mat. I immediately jumped up, full of adrenalin. The silence was broken by the sudden outburst of cheering. I got my personal record, won the championship, but most importantly, fulfilled my own goal.

Olympics

I love watching the Olympics. I wish they were on more often. Starting from the Opening Ceremony every two years, it seems like the excitement never stops. Personally, I like the Summer Olympics better than the Winter Olympics. My favorite events to watch are the gymnastics, swimming, and especially the track and field. Being a high jumper and runner, I am fascinated by these athletes, and strive to be like them. I had the privilege of watching history be made at the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. With Michael Phelps winning a record eight gold medals in one year, and both the opening and closing ceremonies being the biggest ever, it was truly a privilege to witness. Beijing was really the first Olympics I actually paid attention to. Before that I may have watched them, but I never really cared or followed the results.

I have been following the Vancouver Olympics even more carefully. There are many really cool websites that keep track of things like the medal count. I really enjoy following that, along with some individual events. My favorite winter sports are pair’s figure skating, snowboard half pipe, and short-track speed skating. I’m not quite sure which one I like the most. I like figure skating because I think I could probably do most of the tricks they do, however I can’t get how they are able to do anything on the ice. I have no skating coordination whatsoever. I like pairs the best because they can do so many more things with two people like throws and lifts. The half pipe is really just amazing to me. I have never tried to snowboard, but I’m pretty sure it would be a disaster. Then they combine that with all the flips, twists, and grabs, I truly find it unfathomable. I really enjoy short track because it is one of the only events in the winter games that isn't against judged or racing the clock. By the final round, all the competitors are racing right next to each other, at the same time.

The excitement always keeps you on the edge of your seat. For example, in the finals of the men’s 1500 meters, it seemed as if the podium was out of reach for the Americans. However, at the last second, the Koreans in the second and third spots collided and fell. Korea took gold, and the U.S. took both silver and bronze. It is the excitement that draws me to watch this sport. Overall, the Olympics are a really great event and I am already looking forward to the 2012 London Summer Games.

Big Fish

“Ouch!” I screamed as I hit the ground. All I could think about was my throbbing ankle. Everyone in the gym came running over to me, they were all laughing, including Mrs. Blackmer. I couldn’t figure out what was so funny. Apparently Natalie couldn’t either. She was standing over me, a shocked look on her tan face. I saw a hand reach out to me, as if to help me up, but there was no way I was going to stand right now.


“What just happened?” Natalie asked.

“I don’t know…my ankle…” I responded.

“Come on, get up,” Mrs. Blackmer said.

“I can’t,” I said still confused and in an extreme amount of pain.

“That was the loudest snap I have ever heard,” Natalie exclaimed. “Did anyone else hear that?”

“That was your ankle?” Mrs. Blackmer said in disbelief. She went running for an ice pack as she told a few other girls to carry me to the bench. She instructed me to take my shoes off. Her background as an athletic trainer allowed my gym teacher to assess my injury. My right ankle was already swollen; it was the size of a baseball. I couldn’t move it at all.

Why did I have to be the one to get hurt? I thought to myself. Especially on the last day on gym class in eighth grade, I can’t think of anything much worse. I should never have gone for that dunk.

See, we had been playing a friendly game of basketball. I got the rebound of a missed shot and raced down the court for the breakaway. This was a fun game, so as I was approaching the basket, I decided to go for a dunk. I had done it plenty of times before, and I knew I could successfully complete it. I jumped up, dunked the ball, and the next thing I know I am on the ground, and all I know is that my ankle hurts. It turns out, as I broke away, everyone on the court came running after me. My teammate, Natalie, was watching the ball as I jumped. She couldn’t stop her momentum and her shoulder hit my left leg. I landed hard on my right leg and my ankle snapped.

As I was sitting on the bench, with ice on my still-throbbing ankle, watching the others play, reality hit me.

I won’t be able to dance! I thought. In a split second, a huge part of my life was eliminated. Nationals were coming up soon, and I could tell I now wouldn’t be able to compete. I felt terrible. Then, the rest of my upcoming end of the year activities came into mind; May Crowning, Confirmation, graduation, our Cedar Point trip, and my dance banquet. I didn’t know how I could participate in any of those things that I had looked forward to for months.

I went to the hospital after school, and found that I had crushed my ankle bone. I left in tears, in a wheel chair with instructions to come back in a week for surgery. I was completely devastated. I was able to attend all my events, just not quite the way I wanted to. I still went to Chicago to watch my studio compete at Nationals. Looking at the bright side of my painful situation, at least my friends and I didn’t have to wait in line for any rides at Cedar Point.

Currency Concerns

China Rejects U.S. Complaints on Its Currency

The United States is right in pressuring China to raise the value of its currency.

If China was to revalue its currency, the United States would see a major increase in domestic consumption, and ultimately jobs. Right now, Americans buy so many Chinese-made products because they are cheap. With a raise in the value of its currency, Chinese products would be more expensive, and much less appealing to American consumers. For example, a toy made in China costs $1 to a U.S. customer, and the same toy made in the U.S. costs $1.03. More American customers would buy the Chinese-made toy, benefiting China’s economy. After the five percent appreciation of the renminbi, the Chinese toy would be $1.05. Americans would now most likely buy the U.S. toy, benefiting our economy. If this happened with all the Chinese products the United States currently imports, we would see a major boost, especially in jobs.

China’s willingness to adjust the value of the renminbi would also probably better the overall relationship between the United States and China. “Internet censorship, hacking attacks directed at American companies, arms sales to Taiwan and the pending visit of the Dalai Lama to Washington have all cropped up in the last month as points of conflict,” Wong and Landler of The New York Times say. For the past few months, the Obama administration has been trying to pressure China to cooperate with the United States and the U.N.’s efforts on many occasions. China just keeps doing things on its own. These decisions by both sides keep increasing tension within the extremely intertwined relationship. If China was to agree to raise the value of the renminbi, it may relieve some of the tension between these two major world powers. The cooperation of China with the U.S. and the U.N. would make world efforts much easier.

The Power of One

The Power of One is definitely one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen. I had no idea what to expect going into it, all I knew was that it took place in South Africa, around the time of World War II. I was shocked when I saw the movie. P.K., even from such a young age, is faced with major hardships. Everyone and everything he loves gets taken away from him throughout the movie. He still manages to make it through and continues to help others. Since he was raised in a multi-racial environment, he has no racial views. He has the gift of language, and is able to speak multiple languages. This allows him to bring the prisoners together and later to help Zulus from Alexandra learn and be able to teach how to read and write the English language. This all greatly inspired me to try to do more selfless things like him. The scene with all the prisoners singing was probably my favorite scene of the movie. It was really amazing to see the different tribes all together as one become so powerful in rebellion without the Nazis even knowing. However, one of the hardest scenes to watch follows that. Seeing Sergeant Bormann beat and kill Geel Piet was terrible. Piet was such a great and inspiring character, a seeing him die was difficult, but it was nice to see him get a last moment of freedom when he was telling the Sergeant exactly what the prisoners were singing. I learned much more about the actual state of South Africa at the time of Apartheid. I was much more brutal than I expected. The living conditions in places like Alexandra were absolutely atrocious. Overall, I absolutely loved this movie and the message it sent.

Happy New Year!

I had a pretty low key New Year this year. I honestly can’t remember the last time I didn’t go to a party on New Year’s Eve, but this year was a little different. I rang in 2010 with my mom and dad. It was pretty boring but nice in a way. I laid around in my sweats and just had a lazy night. We watched Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve in Times Square while eating very good food. I can’t say that I’m sad to see 2009 go. Drama is probably the thing I hate the most and I had no shortage of it in 2009. When you spend nine years with the same group of one hundred kids, tension builds and drama happens. There were some very good times, though, especially at the end of eighth grade. Our class trip to Cedar Point, Graduation and the after party, and even just the excitement of graduating and moving on to high school all made 2009 a year to remember. However, I‘m ready for a fresh start in 2010. Over spring break, I’m turning fifteen and going to Disney World. Disney World in Orlando is my absolute favorite place in the universe. I’ve been there many times before and have wanted to go there for a while, but never worked out with scheduling. I‘m also super excited for the summer Global Ed. trip to Berlin, Prague, and the Swiss Alps. It should be a blast and a wonderful way for me to meet new people. That is exactly what I plan on doing this year. I love my friends, but I want to meet some new people. I love learning about new people and their culture if it is any different from mine. 2010 should be a great year.

Christmas :)

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year. Besides having time off from school, I love the whole atmosphere of the season. From the decorations everywhere to the music and even the shopping, everything adds up and creates what I think is perfect. Every year, around Christmas, I get really excited and I love to decorate the house. My family is never quite as into it as I am, but that’s okay. I decorate our entire house, including my room which is always the best. I put lights all over, around my door on the outside and inside, around my closet and even hanging from my chandelier. I have two small Christmas trees, and many other accessories including a Nativity, a stocking, several wreaths and some Christmas themed stuffed animals. Besides decorating, our family has a few traditions. About five years ago, my mom and I started making Christmas Eve Cinnamon Rolls. They’re pretty easy to make. On Christmas Eve, you put frozen dinner rolls in a Bundt pan then add brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla pudding mix, and melted butter. Let them rise over night, put them in the oven on Christmas morning and enjoy. They are incredibly delicious and definitely one of my favorite parts of the holiday. After opening all the presents and digging into the scrumptious cinnamon rolls, my extended family comes over. Three aunts, three uncles, and seven cousins along with my grandpa join my mom, dad, brother and me to further celebrate the holiday. We eat and each open one more present to finish off the day. We always have a wonderful time and I wouldn’t want to celebrate any other way.