Bryant,+Jessica

=Jessica Bryant's Portfolio=

Letter
 In this letter I will be describing some of my strengths in my writing skills. I will also be describing my weaknesses.  At the beginning of the year, I made a goal to improve my writing skills. One of my biggest weaknesses are staying on topic. When I'm given a topic, I have a tendency to drift off the topic to things that are not really of importance. Sometimes I catch myself doing this, but most of the time I don't. Another one of my weaknesses are writing/typing lengthy paragraphs when necessary. When I'm told how long my paragraphs should be, I either write/type beyond that point, or I can't reach it. Sometimes teachers like it when you write past the required amount & that is a good thing. But most of the time teachers want you to reach the required amount & not go beyond that. & that is not always a good thing because you could end up with points being deducted off of your assignment. Still, I am improving on these weaknesses.  When it comes to writing/typing essays, I have a lot of strengths. One of my strengths are summerizing thing. I can read any type of literature and summerize it very well. Another one of my strengths is being able to get the main idea out of writings. This used to be very hard for me. One of my strengths that I have been working on since 4  th   grade is my proof reading skills. This has become very handy to me now that I'm in English 2 CP. I believe that if I'm able to write something and be able to go back & add things or delete things that don't sound right, I've been able to become a better writer.  One of my plans for the future is to continue strengthening my my weaknesses. Another plan is for me to continue making my strengths even stronger.

 Drunk Driving
   Drunk Driving   ~   There are many effects that happen when people drive under the influence.   When people drive drunk, different things can happen. People who drive drunk can get into accidents and kill themselves or kill someone else. They can loose their licsense temporarily or long term. You could very well end up in prison. <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;"> <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> When people drink, their thinking becomes impaired. Whatever is in the alcohol messes with people's mind. It makes them think that they are capable of driving. Most people who drive drunk get behind the wheel of an automobile knowing very well that their intoxicated. I don't know why anyone would still get behind a wheel of a automobile after drinking. I thought that when you go out drinking your supposed to have a designated driver. I don't think people even <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> __THINK__  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> about designated drivers anymore. <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;"> <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> Drunk driving leads to accidents. You could lose your license temporarily. Depending on how many times you've been caught drunk driving, you could lose you licenses for good. Most of the accidents are deadly. My dads cousin was walking home one night from the store. A drunk driver was on the road driving his car and hit him from the rear. Because of that irresponsible driver, my dads cousin only has one leg. Thousands of people are killed by drunk drivers daily. It makes you open your eyes and realize <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> __anyone's__  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> life could be suddenly taken by a drunk driver. <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;"> <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> If you drink while you drive you could not only end up killing someone, you could end up in jail. You could end up in there without parole. My dads half brother was drinking one night. His life changed dramatically when he got behind the wheel of a car and swerved of the road hitting car, killing a family of three. Now he's in prison without parole because of a temporary decision he made. Because of him, someone is without a daughter and a grandchild. <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;"> <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> The rate in drunk driving had gone down. Hopefully over the next few years the rate in drunk driving accidents will continue to go down. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> Love Conquers All
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,serif;">Love Conquers All <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,serif;">I disagree that love conquers all. I disagree with this because of personal experiences. There is no true definition of the word love. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,serif;">(From a personal experience) Me and my boyfriend have been together for 8 months and 2 weeks. We’ve known each other our whole lives. We love each other very much. This is where I disagree the love conquers all because even though me and him are together, there is still some problems from his past that affect us everyday. So if love conquers all, then the problems from his past would not be around today.

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,serif;">Words Can Hurt
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,serif;"> **Words Can Hurt** **By** **Jessica Bryant** **Marching band is a sport that I enjoy doing. I take great pride in doing its activities. Its an advanced sport that tests your physical abilities and your multitasking skills.** **I remember for the first time hearing someone say “marching band is not a real sport.” I remember the mixed emotions I felt after hearing that. I went from being shocked, to being angry, to being extremely sad. I was shocked to hear someone disrespect us like that with all the hard work we put into our band. I was angry to know that just because we do not run around hitting or kicking a ball, we were not considered a “real” sport. Most of all, I was sad because I felt that people did not appreciate the marching band.** **Many times I have heard people say “they are okay, but they are not that good.” I would like to see those people that are complaining, go out on to the field, read pages of drill, understand the drill, MEMORIZE the drill while memorizing music. I would like to see them go outside in the heat or cold and perform. I bet I would not hear them complaining anymore.** **The year books last year were a big disappointment to us. Every sports team, every club, and every organization was in the year book. Everyone except the New Bern High School Marching Band...That made us all kind of angry. We were not even mentioned. I guess we were not important enough to be in there.** **The three words that dig into our hearts the most are “the band sucks.” That hurts us the most because we are doing something we love. We put to much hard work into our shows and competitions for people to not appreciate us.** **That is why I believe that words can hurt people. “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words may never hurt me.” To me, that is just a silly false saying someone made up. But, as those words are hurting us, they are also giving us that energy to make ourselves even better.** <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;">  <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;">