A Performance

As I waited with all the rest of the cast for the performance to start I really felt nervous this time even though I had preformed this play the last 3 nights in a row. This night was different though... my best friend was having her 9^th birthday party at my play so almost every girl in our grade was coming to see me tonight. I was anxious agog and amped to go out onto that stage and perform. Happy as a butterfly flittering in the sun, but nervously laughing like a hyena.

They told us to take our places on the Point Loma Nazarene College stage for the play was about to commence. I could tell that my stomach was just as nervous as I was as it tossed and turned inside me. I then realized I hadn’t put on my lipstick yet and the director always stressed that the girls always be wearing their lipstick when onstage because it looked good. I raced back to the dressing room to dash some quick across my pale lips and I started to dash back when I realized (thankfully) that I was on the wrong side anyways before. So I started running around to the other side. “Malia?! What are you still doing back here?!” the costume director inquired. “I know I know I know I’m on my way the my side of the stage.”

I slid up to my right place in line just before the music started to play. “What took you so long?” my friend Johanna asked

“Sorry sorry, I not only had to put my lipstick on, but I then realized that I was on the wrong side and…” The music began to play.
“Ya OK tell me later….The hills are alive…” as the music belted we strutted on stage singing and it was coasting from there on as the play unwound.

As we were bowing to the audience I saw all my friends in the first and second row and I thought, what a perfect performance…and the curtain closed.

Love Put In Exlie

By: Malia Bence
In my art piece I connected two very resilient and inspiring people the Dalai Lama and my best friend, Sequoi Zozula. The way I showed the Dalai Lama is by showing how he’s in exile because of China since China took over his country Tibet so I showed him behind bars and behind the Dalai Lama is the Chinese symbol for love because even though China caused him and people so much pain he still loves and forgives them. The rags in front symbolize all the blood and destruction going on outside of the Dalai Lamas exile. The was Sequoi is shown in my art is because I always have said how she is strong like bars but still has love inside. Overall, I really just wanted to honor those two amazing characters in my final art piece.

Resilience Essay

By: Malia Bence

Divorce, exile, a dead friend, a country in pain. Hopelessness, sadness, loneliness, depression are all simply emotions that can be overcome with one important thing…happiness. Two people who inspire me are the Dalai Lama and my best friend, Sequoi Zozula. These two people are very well rounded, but the one thing that they both share in common that I admire is how they are always happy no matter what happens to them, good or bad.
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” This is a quote said by the Dalai Lama that inspired me the most. The Dalai Lama is the leader of Tibet and Tibet is a country in Asia that China has been trying to take over. Now, he is in exile and there are at least 6 million Tibetans in China and Tibet is pretty much fully occupied by Chinese. Another very inspiring virtue that the Dalai Lama has is that he is peaceful. For example, he still prays for his “Chinese brothers and sisters” and every morning he urges Tibetans to learn Chinese so they can talk with their new rulers-not fight with them. Even though the Dalai Lama has heard about some freedom demonstrations that have lead to some of the bloodiest confrontations in the region (since similar protests in the late 1980’s) leaving 99 people dead and how Tibetans will be imprisoned for years for simply just carrying a picture of him, he still stays peaceful towards the Chinese. He says that “violence can never solve a problem deep down” and he wakes up happy every day meaning, love is the answer to all problems which is also how my best friend feels about life,
Sequoi Zozula has been my best friend since second grade and one of the reasons why she is my best friend is because she is always in a good mood. She also finds a ways to find fun in everything she does. Sequoi used to go to my school until 3rd grade, but we still stay friends. In January of 6th grade her beloved dog that was 3 years old died from a blood disease. Soon after her parents got a divorce and her mom started planning to move to Texas by the end of May. After all this happened and even throughout the process, she always kept a smile on her face as usual and never complained. Even when I was younger, I was inspired to lead my life with happiness. When you are happy, it results in you constantly being carefree. Whenever I get the chance to see her when she is occasionally in town to visit her dad, she always mentions at some point, “Well, you’ve always got to look at the glass half full not half empty.”
Throughout my whole life I have always had the goal of leading my life happily, peacefully, and carefree. The three words are all the three words that describe my two resilient people the most. I can get competitive sometimes and my goal is to be peaceful towards my enemies or competitors just like the Dalai Lama is towards China (even though China has taken over his country and sent him into exile.) When things go wrong, I sometimes feel as if I want to just feel sorry for myself, but I try to mode my actions after the Dalai Lama and Sequoi because I know that they would just look at the positives, never the negatives. Finally, my ultimate goal in life is to just be completely carefree like Sequoi. I would like to be able to just go with the flow in life and not plan or worry about the future, to just believe in fate and luck of the draw and make the best of what happen, to me in the end.
I will continue their legacies by looking at the opposite side’s opinion so that I am peaceful towards them. I will always look on the bright side of potentially depressing situations and I will let whatever comes come and deal with it in the utmost carefree manor. In the end I will now just continue to try and do my best to follow their tactics to live life and be happy.

Lord Of The Flies Trial Reflection

At first I was nervous and a little shaky at the beginning of the trial, but then once I got into it I definitely exceeded expectations. Caitlin and I stayed up till about 10 or 11 every night before the trial brainstorming and preparing for the trial. Also, when I realized (from what Brian's mom said) that our questions and closing statement were not at the level that they should have been and did not have enough meat or grabbing ability, I was able to improvise and still be convincing. For example, when I showed exhibit 1 and added in that it must have been intentional for Jack to have hurt Ralph because of the obviously sharp spear and, that was improvisation and about half of my closing statement was improvised. We even realized that we had no cross examination questions except for Jack because their witnesses were not told to us before the trial like ours were to them and we were able to improvise (professionally) those cross examinations too. Overall, I definitely think that both Caitlin and I should for sure get at least a hundred percent on all the effort we have put forth for this trial. We were the first prosecution to win!

Publication Blog "My Life As Jenna Flamme"

Title: My Life As Jenna Flamme

Author: Malia Bence

Genre: Teen Superhero

Pages: 10

Mentor Texts: At first I couldn't decide what to write about, but then I took a break and read. The book I was reading then was "What I Like About You" so I decided to base my story off of that. But then it was too boring so I thought about the Incredibals and added that twist to it.

Audience: Middle School Girls

Writing Process: As I said before I had made 2 or 3 other stories before I thought of my final story idea. My first idea was too boring. It was going to be about 4 teen girls in New York City and one gets in a car accident. My second idea was about 3 fairy sisters who go dimond catching , but there is an evil fox that attacks. Finally, I thought of my last idea, but the ending was weak so after pier-editing with Danielle we fixed the ending so that the whole story connected at the end.

Publishing Process: I plan to illistrate my story and then go to Staples and get it made into kind of like a book and finally, I will put it in Ms. Staffs library.