STORIES COME TO LIFE! A Personal Story Literary Arts Residency with Anita Woodley (Volume Two)

PAGE - 2 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGES ● Page 4.. “A Letter from the Resident, Literary Teaching Artist . Anita Woodley …… …… …………… ● Page 5 .. “Biography for The Literary Teaching Artist .. .. Anita Woodley …… … ……………………… ● Page 6 .. “About the Durham Arts Council – CAPS Program & Message Shana Adams …… …………

CORE 1 - CLASS ● Page 7-8 “$20 Isn’t Worth the Torture” ...... Yanina Sarai Ayala Guardado … ………… ……… …… ● Page 8... “The Special Art of Basketball” ...... Di’Jaden Amode’ Bailey … ………………… … … …… ● Page 9 . “Either Love it or Don’t Like It...... James Best …… …………………… ………… ● Page 9-10 . “Being an MLG” . . . . Gregory Covington III … … ………………………… ………… ……… ● Page 11 . “Baseball with my Favorite Uncle” . . ... Andrew Isac Gallardo …… …………… … ………… ● Page 12 ... “Almost Died” . . . Brendan Austin Gordon … …………………… …………………… …… ● Page 13 “Trash the Trash” ...... Vernon Anthony Hanes …… ………… …… ……………… ……… … ● Page 13 “The Fair” ...... Kimberly “Kim” Henriquez Delao …… ……… ……… …… …… ……… … ● Page 14 “Played Out Xbox” .. .. Jesus Hernandez-Lopez …… …………………… …………… ……… ● Page 14 “ Ops 2”...... Terrell Howell Jr. …… ……… ……………………… … ………………… ● Page 15 ... “How to Be Tired and Bored” .. . Edwin Emmanuel Lozano Cerda … ………………… …… ● Page 15-16.“Thoughts on Anger Problems & Friendship” ... . . Ashantee Lyons-Best ……… ……… … ● Page 17 .. “What it’s Like Being Tall” .. . . Jada Lanae Myers … …………………… … ……… ………… ● Page 18 .. “Big Truck Ride” ...... Darrius Nelson … …………………………………… ………… …… ● Page 19 .. “First Time Playing Football” Torian Rahshawn Pope … …………………………………… ● Page 19-20. “Being in a Tornado” . Brandon Alejandro Cruz-Rivera ………… ……………………… ● Page 20 .. “Rumors About Me” .. .. Kenyonna Tykiara Spruill … ………………… …………………… ● Page 21 .. “Best Friends Keep it 100”. . .. Cynthia Umanzor … ……………………………………… … ● Page 22 .. “On My Ipod” . . . Carlos Guiterrez-Villianueva … ………………… …………………… …… ● Page 23 .. “Playing Black Ops 2 for the First Time” ... . . Eduardo Hernandez Zagada … ……… …… …

CORE 2- CLASS

● Page 23 . “A Soccer Game with Friends” . . Brandon Nava- Avila …… ……………… ………………… ● Page 24 . “Field Trip to D.C.” .. .. Luis Alejandro Baires …… ………………………… ………………… ● Page 25 . “Florida Trip. . Khadijah Brown …… ……………………………… ………………………… ● Page 26 “When I Almost Feel to my Death” . .. Harry Rosas Contreras …… …………… …………… ● Page 27-28.... “Parts of My Life” ...... Sandra Alicia Martinez Cortez …… …………… … …… …… ● Page 28 ... “Drowning to Death” ...... Nircer De LaCruz-Covarrubias … …………… ………… … …… ● Page 29 . “My Dad’s DJ Business & Parties”.. .. Jasmine Suzanna Johnson …… ………… …………… ● Page 29 . “Summer Time Flies” ...... Kamari Christian Kelly …… ……………… ………………… …… ● Page 30 . “School” ...... Anna Jannette Little …… ………… …………… ……… …………………… ● Page 31 . “My First Official Neal Soccer Game” . . Roberto Luna …… ………………… ……………… ● Page 32-33. “Sixth Grade Year” ...... Isaura Aranda-Morales ……………… …………… …… ………

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 3 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS Continued …

CORE 2- CLASS

● Page 34. “Rough Football” ...... Nazir Nehiemiah Norman …… …………………… … …… ……… … ● Page 35 . .“The Day My Brother Went From Bad to Good” ... .. Jamiya Tilson … … …………… ……… ● Page 36 .. “My Family of Musicians” .. . . Patrick K.Williamson … ………… …… ………………………

CORE 3- CLASS

● Page 36-37.... “I Am” .. ... Anonymous ……………………………… …… …………………………… ● Page 37 . “Penny” ...... Jessica Kendall Bumgarner …… …………………… ………… … …… ……… ● Page 37 . “Papa E. We Miss You” .. . . Jessica Kendall Bumgarner …… ………………… ………… …… ● Page 38 “My Sister's First Baby” ...... Jessica Kendall Bumgarner …… ……… …… ……………… … ● Page 39 . “Third Time’s The Charm” . ... Jaidzia Nicole Campbell …… …………… …………… ……… ● Page 40 . “Almost Hit By A Car” . .Aaron Dwight Clark III …… …………………………… …………… ● Page 41 . “Sprained My Wrist” ... .. Nallely Mateos-Garcia …… ………………………… …………… ● Page 41-42.... “Good at Playing Soccer” . ... . John Alexander Gomez ……… …………… ……… …… ● Page 43 . “Trying to be Like Everyone Else” ...... Alexander Oneil Phelps …… ………… ………… … ● Page 44 . “Pro Dancer” ...... Jermaine Naree Thomas …… ……………… …………… ………… …… ● Page 45 . “Dance Life” . .... Tamya Williams …… ……………………………… …………………… … ● Page 46 . “I Love Scary Movies” .. . Tamya Williams …… …………………………………………… … ● Page 47 . “Scary Spiders” ...... Karizma Tyae Williamson …… ………… ……………………… … …… th ● Page 48 - 53.. “Urbanese Dictionary” ...... All Neal 6 ​ Graders ……………… ………… …… ……… ​

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 4 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

A Letter from the Literary Teaching Artist: Anita Woodley Hey There! As promised, here’s our book featuring the personal story, and in some instances, stories you shared with your classmates and me during the 2­day Stories Come To Life Literary Arts Residency. I had a fabulous time teaching this writing residency while switching into different character voices, like my 100­year­old Great­Grandma, Transformers, Curious George and my brother.

Congratulations, YOU are now all independently published authors! I am very proud of you for sharing your heartfelt stories with the world. Your perspectives are very important and help us to better understand the world that we live in. The world will be a better place for us all to live, work, and grown in because of brave storytellers like you. I know sometimes, times can get rough and many may seem out of your control, even perhaps scary at moments in your life. However, through it all, reach within yourself and the community to find a way to think of something positive to help you stay on a positive course in your life.

Let nothing stop you from reaching your goals, not even yourself! You inspired me! One of the biggest challenges for me while editing your book was reading about the daily struggles many of you face. As I shared with you in class, many of these struggles I also experienced as a teenager living in poverty in the Housing Projects of Oakland, California. With time and support from people I learned to trust, my tears and anger eventually transformed into smiles and happiness. I had to find positive outlets to bring meaning to my life, like writing what troubles I had in a diary, volunteering with community organizations, sleeping eight hours a night, and finding a mentor who specialized in a field I wanted to work in. This cleared my mind, body, and soul stress.

I want to give a special thanks to you for being a part of this program and trusting me with your work. I also thank you for your contributions to the “Urbanese Dictionary”, which features uniquely spelled words used in your work with the same meaning as words in standard English. A special thanks to The Durham Arts Council, Sherry DeVries ​ (DAC Executive Director), CAPS Program, GlaxoSmithKline, and Shana Adams (Director of CAPS) for the ​ generous grant to support this work on a larger scale this year, allowing us to reach the entire sixth grade (3 times more students.) Thank you to my ninth grade Drama teacher Andy Hamner for editing the final versions of your stories. Also a special thanks to Demetrius Hunter of Grocers On Wheels for supplying and delivering fresh fruit daily for the writing sessions. Thank you Greg Register of Sign of Class­ Durham Flea Market, for printing and assembling all the books. And again, thank you for your stories. Without your energy and contribution this project would not have been possible!

I Will Always Believe That You Will Succeed! Anita Woodley & Great­Grandma

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 5 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

Biography - Anita Woodley

ANITA WOODLEY is an award-winning journalist/producer/actress/poet/mixed-media folk visual artist/baker, ​ ​ ​ and playwright. She is also a state-certified HIV counselor, Durham Arts Council’s Emerging Artist in Drama and ​ Literary/ Improvisational Theatrical Teaching Artist for Durham’s Public School Pre-K to 12th Graders. In her ​ spare time, Anita is an Improvisational Jazz band lead vocalist, volunteer with Grocers on Wheels Serve ​ ​ ​ Communities, the non-profit Mobile Farmers Market in Durham and Raleigh, NC Food Desert areas, Associate Member of the Sisters Network Triangle: African-American Women’s National Breast Cancer Survivorship Support Group, and the Women’s Health Education Ambassador for Raindownus.org.

Mrs. Woodley is a native of Oakland, California where she attended Oakland Technical High School 1989-1994. She served as the All-Student Body President in High School, PTSA Student Representative, and Youth Commissioner on the Mayor of Oakland’s Youth Council. In 2015, Anita Woodley was inducted into Hall of Honor at her alma mater High School with alumnus Marshawn Lynch, The Pointer Sisters, Rickey Henderson, and Clint Eastwood.

Anita Woodley wrote and performed the critically-acclaimed solo theatrical performances –Bucking The ​ Medical and Mental Bull, Mama Juggs, and The Men in Me, touring throughout the U.S. and Internationally to ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Cameroon, West Africa’s University of Yaounde. Anita creates new creative works that are transformational, ​ non-traditional theatrical series called "Ethnodramas" to educate, promote, and prevent harmful practices to overall health. Mrs. Woodley’s work has proven to provide culturally appropriate and early intervention for disparities, such as from poverty, HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, stroke, heart disease, bullying, obesity, clinical trials and more. Mrs. Woodley’s creative work has been featured at the National Black Theatre Festival, New York’s ​ Off-Broadway, Los Angeles, and Chicago, numerous universities, hospitals, and faith-based communities nationwide.

Mrs. Anita Woodley’s journalism career started while attending San Francisco State University school of Broadcasting, Radio and Television. She worked for NBC, CBS, and landed her first on-air newscast with the PBS sister station KMTP called “Newsnight with Anita Morgan.” She achieved those milestones while a full-time, undergraduate junior student pursuing her Bachelor of Arts degree at San Francisco State University 1998-2000. Anita Woodley graduated college in the top 8% of the Class of 2000, Top 15% of the country, and Magna Cum Laude. Three months after graduating college, Mrs. Woodley was got hired at CNN’s Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia to Associate Produce Domestic News. She went on to work for a FOX affiliate and then 7 years in Chapel Hill for the NPR, National Public Radio affiliate station, WUNC-FM’s award-winning show “The Story with ​ Dick Gordon." Mrs. Anita Woodley’s accolades awarded in the fields of Radio & Television ​ Journalism, spanning more than 20 years, were earned from the Harry Chapin Foundation for Hunger and Poverty in New York, the National Association of Black Journalists, and an Emmy award for Exceptional Coverage on September 11th, 2001 when the World Trade Center in New York was attacked.

Anita Woodley lives with her husband of 15 years and 12 year-old son in ’s Triangle Area. Stay in contact with Anita Woodley through social media: TWITTER @productivelyAW -- INSTAGRAM @AnitaWoodley -- #AnitaWoodley -- FACEBOOK anitawoodleyproductions. You can also reach her by phone, 919-914-0104 or email [email protected] . Learn more about Anita's innovative creative work on her ​ ​ ​ ​ website, AnitaWoodley.com ​

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 6 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

About the Durham Arts Council CAPS Program MISSION The Durham Arts Council, Inc. mission promotes excellence in and access to the creation, experience, and active support of the arts for all the people of our community. Learn more online at, www.durhamarts.org

“This was my second year observing the Stories Come Alive residency led by CAPS teaching artist, Anita Woodley at Neal Middle School. It was inspiring to see the students transformed into writers within minutes of meeting Mrs. Woodley. The residency gave students the opportunity to express themselves through writing even if they claimed to not enjoy writing. They all wrote. They all told their own ​ stories, validating themselves and their peers as individuals who each have stories to share. This is an experience I hope will continue each year at Neal and become replicated at other schools. The support of CAPS from , and the teachers and administration at Neal has been incredible. Additionally, Durham Arts Council appreciates GlaxoSmithKline for seeing the value in this residency and sponsoring this transformative experience” - Shana Adams, Director of Creative Arts in Public & Private Schools (Durham Arts Council)

CREATIVE ARTS IN THE PUBLIC/PRIVATE SCHOOLS About: The Creative Arts in the Public/Private Schools (CAPS) program provides interactive and ​ creative ways for students and educators to access arts education in public and private schools throughout Durham, Granville, and Counties. Durham Arts Council CAPS has provided Artists-in-Residence programs to students at Lakeview Secondary School for over 9 years during the full school year. Over 20,000 students and 500 educators experience arts education through the Durham Arts Council CAPS program each year.

CAPS History: Born from the concept for integrating the arts with the standard curriculum of Durham ​ ​ ​ schools, CAPS began in 1972 when a small group of Durham parents, artists, and members of Durham’s First Presbyterian Church came together to develop a project that would bring artists into the classroom for several visits. Funding from community organizations and The Urban Ministries Fund of Presbytery of Orange in North Carolina helped to give the then, Council for Creative Arts in the Public Schools, a firm foundation to combine curriculum with creative sessions by local professional artists.

In 1979, CAPS became a full-fledged program maintained by a partnership of Durham Arts Council, Durham County Schools and Durham City Schools. Since that auspicious beginning, the CAPS program has grown over twenty-fold. In 1988, CAPS earned national recognition as a “Model Arts in Education Program” from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1989, CAPS introduced its hospital schools residencies; in 1991, CAPS began working in the Triangle’s private schools; and in 1997, CAPS branched out to Orange County and Granville County Schools. Today, CAPS offers over 150 residencies, workshops, performances, and arts integration workshops for educators, lead by 53 Professional Artists and Arts Presenters.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 7 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“$20 Isn’t Worth the Torture” Story & Artwork by: YANINA SARAI AYALA GUARDADO

One weekend, my mom told me that for the weekend I had to take care of my three cousins. “Sweetheart, I know Angel, Karol, and Emely can drive you crazy sometimes, but you and your brother will take care of them.” I told her, “Please! I can’t do it.” “Me and our father have to work and their parents have to go to a very important meeting, blah, blah…” I didn’t hear the rest because all I was thinking was, “Why, why, why so they ask me? I am too young to die!” Then my mom interrupted my thoughts saying, “Fine. I’ll pay you! How much? $20.00?” “Fine, I’ll take it.”

Saturday rolled around and I entered their house with my brother. Their rooms have so many toys you can’t even walk straight. They are SPOILED! Their parents greeted me and left everything to us. Everything was going good until Emely said, “I want cookies.” That may sound like nothing important, but there was one problem. There were no cookies in the house. She started yelling and screaming, so high pitched that to this day it still haunts my dreams. I am surprised I am not deaf. My brother said, ‘I’ll be right back.” Before I could tell him not to leave me there, with a “click” the door closed. There I was, left with 3 toddlers. First, I just let Emely cry because I could not do anything about it. I focused on taking care of Angel, the little boy that is two years old, and Karol, the girl that is 3 years old. A few minutes later, which seemed like hours, my brother returned and said, “I got them chocolate cookies with frosting!” He handed them to Emely. She stopped. She looked at it and threw it. And she started crying again. Together my brother and I said, “Why! Why! Why! Is this really worth $20?” She said, “I wanted pink frosting. Blue is for boys.” We couldn’t take it and told her, “Look, this is all we have. You’re six. Stop acting two. This is what we have and you are going to eat this. Okay? Sorry!” My brother and I were shocked by what happened next. Emely apologized. It was a miracle.

As nighttime fell, we put on their pajamas, brushed their teeth, gave them warm milk, and put them to bed. My brother and I had one more day to watch them. I ran to the guest room and locked myself in there, so I could sleep in the bed. And my brother had to “pick” the couch to sleep on. As soon as I got settled in to go to sleep, I was awakened by giggling and crying. Angel was crying and Emely and Karol were giggling while they were playing videogames. I found out that Angel was just sleepy, so I brought him into the guest room with me. Once Angel was sleep, I chased the other two and made them lie down in each of their rooms, tucking them into bed in such a way that even when they awoke in the morning they would have trouble getting out of the bed the rest of the night.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 8 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

Continued … “$20 Isn’t Worth the Torture” Story & Artwork by: YANINA SARAI AYALA GUARDADO

Sunday morning and afternoon, Angel was full tantrums, Emely was screaming, there was a little argument between Emely and Karol, Emely was throwing things, there were no naps for Emely, Angel, and Karol; and many more things that caused us two misery. Finally a miracle happened when their parents came home early!!!!! As soon as we saw them my brother and me yelled, “Amen, Praise the Lord!” So my parents picked us up and my mother gave us $20.00. She asked us how it was. I Said, ‘It was Hell!” I got in trouble for saying that one word. And my brother said, “It was like three wolverines attacking you and then two days later someone rescues you.” Then my mother told me the best news ever, “They are hiring a new babysitter!”

“The Special Art of Basketball” Story & Artwork by: Di’Jaden Amode’ Bailey Basketball is my favorite sport. I have a special technique that I do well when I play against other people and it is called a “Crossover.” A crossover dribble is a basketball maneuver ​ ​ in which a player dribbling the ball switches the ball rapidly from one hand to the other, to make a change in direction. I wish that I can ​ be the best basketball player in the NBA League someday. I want to play for the Indiana Pacers basketball team and show off my special crossover move, be able to dunk, and shoot the ball well. I also desire to travel while playing basketball around the world. I learned how to dribble, crossover dribble, and had a nice jumper when I was younger. My other special technique is to do a fake jump, or pump fake, and then shoot to the basketball. The pump fake is used when the player with the ball pretends to shoot by ​ bringing the ball up in a shooting motion then bringing it down quickly to unbalance or misdirect the defender.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 9 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Either Love it or Don’t Like It” Story & Artwork by: JAMES BEST

I don’t like my afro. My afro is too Big. I don’t like apples. Because they are apples. I don’t like books. Because they are books. I love my mom. Because she is nice. I love my dad. Because he is a mean and funny. I don’t like homework. Because it is too much homework.

“Being an MLG” Story & Artwork by: Gregory Covington III

Growing up, I’ve always loved video games. I remember when my dad gave me his ATARI that he had since he was a teenager. I always played small games like “The Legend of Zelda” or “Pac­Man.” About a year after that, the Game Cubes and Game Boys stated coming out. I traded my ATARI for them both at a pawnshop. Around two years later, the PlayStation 2 and Xbox came out. I bought a PlayStation because I enjoyed using Sony products a lot. They have a certain thing that always attracts my attention with their quality products.

Today I own a pair of Sony headphones and Sony glasses. I had a whole collection of PlayStation 2 games on my bookshelf. In 2008, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (PS3) were released. I swear on my life I was the very first person to even buy both systems because my father and I were the only ones there at GameStop ready to buy. We sold the old game consoles and bought both new consoles.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 10 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

Continued … “Being an MLG” Story & Artwork by: Gregory Covington III

The PS3 was for me and the XBOX 360 belonged to my father. Ever since those video consoles were released the games started to become better and cooler. Before I knew it, I not only owned both consoles, but I had over 200 games! Most of the games were old, so we sold those to get some money. The most money I’ve received from selling my old games was $388. The money was used to also newer games and redeem codes. I currently only have 69 games left in my collection.

One day I was looking at some gamers clips and I saw an advertisement for livestream gaming on my PC (personal computer). I followed the ad to a website called, “Twitch.” There were many videos that I started watching, showing all these people playing different types of games. This made me wonder, “If I practice playing different games, would I be as good as these people?” That’s when I started practicing twelve hours a day, non­stop. I’d wake up, take a shower, take the trash out, and start playing the game. I’ve done this routine all my life. My dad plays video games with me all the time, too. My favorite game is, “Black Ops 2 Online Multiplayer Game of the Year Edition.” I use YouTube to watch new GamePlay and Let’s Play Videos. I also watch these YouTube channels: Game Grumps, Fun with Guru, Smike, 8­bit Gaming, Markiplier, Jack Septic Eye, John’s 117, Pewdiepie, and Cupquake. After many months of playing different games, I have actually gotten a billion times better than I was previously.

About four months before my birthday I was sent an email on my PC while playing Minecraft. I quit playing the game to check my email. It was an invite to attend the 2012 E­Sports tournament. My dad let me go, and we had to travel to Los Angeles for it. When we got there they gave us a list of games we had to choose at computers they set up with controllers. I used a PlayStation plug­in controller, so did a few other gamers. The game I chose was “Call of Duty Black Ops,” and since I was in such a large th group, they choose bigger maps. This ensured fairness as we fought each other. I remained in 5 ​ place for ​ most of the game and then at the end of the match I dropped down to last within a split second! I was so mad, I swear it would’ve made me stop playing games for the rest of my life. One of the friends I made at rd the E­Sports Tournament was in 3 ​ place and he won $10,000. Second place won $50,000 and First place ​ won $100,000.

When we got home my dad asked me one question. He said, “Did you learn anything about the way you and others play games?” I froze and stared at him for almost a whole minute. Then I thought maybe I’m not the best at video games, but at least I was good enough to be in a tournament. Then one day, I was sent another email. It read, “Congratulations, you are now a full­fledged Major League Gamer (MLG)!” If you practice at things you love to do then there is no doubt you will do it better in the future.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 11 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Baseball with my Favorite Uncle” Story & Artwork By: Andrew Isac Gallardo

I was 7 years old when I started playing baseball with my uncle Ismael Ocampo. Once he told me, “Throw the baseball as hard and far as you can.” When I threw the ball I said, “Oooooooooh!” because I threw the ball half of the baseball field length. My uncle caught the ball and said, “You’re ready to play baseball! Let me get you on baseball team.” I told him, “I have a baseball team at school.” And he exclaimed, “Tell your mom to put you on the school baseball team.” I told my mom and she enrolled me in the baseball program in school. My uncle continued to show me how to play baseball. He is important because he is one of my favorite uncles that I have. Now my baseball skills are good. My hope is to go to the Dream League in baseball someday. My advice to others interested in baseball would be to know that hard work pays off. Working hard gives you the training you need to be the best player who makes stronger choices on the baseball field during a game.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 12 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Almost Died” Story & Artwork By: Brendan Austin Gordon

In the summer of 2010, I was eight years old and had a water fight. I had a water cannon and everyone else had buckets of water with sponges. Then I stole my brother’s bucket of water and poured the entire bucket into the gun to fill it up. I shot my 7­year­old uncle Christian with it. While wetting him, I accidently shot him in the eye. He went in the backyard for about 10 minutes where he found a brick. My uncle came back with it in his hand, but I didn’t see him. He then stepped back about fifteen feet and he hit me in the head. Blood was running out of my head where there was a gash. My head was rattling for three to five minutes. So I really couldn’t do anything. I also could not really say anything. All I heard was someone yell, “OMG!”

My dad took me to the bathroom and washed my head wound. The whole bathtub was covered in blood and I freaked out, jumping and screaming for more than two hours until it stopped bleeding. I didn’t need to go to the see a doctor because my dad knew what to do. My uncle got punished for hitting me with the brick. Then later that day, my brother had a little popper firework that we were playing with and then he dropped Stephen’s bike on my head. My head started bleeding again and I jumped up screaming just like when my uncle hit me with the brick. Again, my head was rattling until I feel asleep on the couch.

I was really sleepy that night. My other uncle named Randy who was not really smart, put me on the bunk bed right where there was a hole in the bed. This caused me to fall right onto the hardwood dresser underneath me. I got up screaming once again with a knot as big as a baseball on my head. I ran through the house to my dad in tears. He said, “You will be fine, but you should stay up until the swelling goes down a little.” I went to sleep by the morning time and, like, my Dad said I was fine.

The lesson I learned is that you should not panic when accidents happen and these experiences can help you get through when you are playing in rough athletic games. ​ th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 13 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Trash the Trash” Story & Artwork By: Vernon Anthony Hanes

My mom told me to take out the trash one day while I was walking down the stairs. While taking the trash out I fell into the trashcan. My mom was mad with me for doing that because I had trash all throughout the house. As a result, she made me do everything in the house after that. I had to wash the dishes, too. Then I got in trouble again, but this time it was with my dad. He told me to take the trash out and instead I went to sleep. He picked me up out of the bed and put me into the bathtub.

My advice to others would be to do what your parents tell you to do, like they tell you to do it, and when they tell you to do it.

“The Fair” Story & Artwork By: Kimberly “Kim” Henriquez Delao

When I entered the state fair with my aunt, uncle, cousin, sister, and brother it was sunny and warm weather. I immediately smelled funnel cake, which is my favorite food at the fair. There were a lot of grown people talking and kids who were screaming. I went to buy some tickets, so I could get on rides and play some games.

The games I played were where you throw a dart to pop a balloon to win a teddy bear, and the water game where you win a fish. I won a teddy bear, a goldfish, and then another teddy bear! Then I ate funnel cake and drank lemonade that tasted fantastic. Later that day, I went on more rides and although it went great, some were scary. My advice to others would be to just have fun at the fair when you go.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 14 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Played Out Xbox” Story & Artwork By: Jesus Hernandez-Lopez

When I come from school and on the weekends, I go outside to play soccer and go for walks. When I am at home I also play the video game called, “Call of Duty.” I got mad because I could not pass a mission and I threw the controller for the game. Then I got to the third mission again and I finally passed that mission.

Not long after, I got stuck again, but I did not get mad, because if I got that angry again and threw the controller, then it would likely break. I came to this conclusion because the first time I threw it, a small piece of the controller broke off and the Xbox game froze. I had to unplug the game and plug it back into the wall and it was still frozen on the same screen. When I punched the top of it, it still worked sometimes. Because the Xbox was broken and the Call of Duty game was frozen, making it impossible to play them, I wanted to buy new ones. My parents said, “Why did you throw your controller?!” I told them because I can’t pass the mission when the game freezes after a little time playing and I have to turn it back off.

“Black Ops 2” Story & Artwork By: Terrell Howell Jr.

My favorite game is Black Ops 2. My friends persuaded me to get it because it was a good game. I purchased it and was playing against one of my friends on a 3 vs. 1 (I was 1). My win was mainly because I was using assault rifles and a DSR50, which is a sniper gun. I have in­depth knowledge about the guns from reading books about Black Ops 2 guns.

We started playing other games like Advance Warfare, too. But when my friend Marcus came onboard to play, he was saying, “Duuude, you know you can’t play!” And I responded, “Boy! I can play better than you!” He then challenged me by retorting, “Okay. Let’s see then.” I accepted. Later on that day, we were playing a quick scope match and I won the game. When we got back to school I said, “What happened?” He was completely silent. By playing Black Ops 2 I have learned that I want to be an Engineer.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 15 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“How to Be Tired and Bored” Story & Artwork By: Edwin Emmanuel Lozano Cerda

I’m so tired in school. I’m always ​ tired and just can’t stay awake. I feel lousy. Every night before I got to bed, I play video games and stay up playing on my phone, too. I wake up tired, eat breakfast tired, work tired at school, and it is so tiring.

I don’t like school. It’s just kind of boring sitting all the time just writing, and the foods in school are kinda nasty. School is just lame. I know it gives us education, but can’t they make education better and more fun? Science and Social Studies are my most boring classes because it’s silent and we don’t get up to move around in those classes.

The school’s food is not prepared the way that I like them. For example, the pizza here is too greasy and it rips easily. I think school is also lame because of all the transitioning and having to go to the bathroom with passes. The teachers can also find a way to make learning better and more fun by playing games that can help us learn.

“Thoughts on Anger Problems & Friendship” Story & Artwork By: Ashantee Lyons-Best

Most people think I’m a very quiet girl who doesn’t talk to most people. The people that I don’t talk to are the judgmental ones. And that’s because I think if you talk to someone judgmental, they will judge you behind your back. And I also think that if I am your best friend, I should be your only friend. You should not have other friends because they will just try to take you away from me. Yes, I am allowed to have more than one friend at a time, but I can handle it. I am not going to bring a friend around my other friends if I know the two friends don’t like each other.

Also I do not get along with people that think they are higher class than I am. Two years ago someone judged me. I had two braids on the side of my head. I wanted to go to the bathroom to take

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 16 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

Continued ​ … “Thoughts on Anger Problems & Friendship” Story & Artwork By: Ashantee Lyons-Best them out, but I couldn’t because I knew that I would get in trouble with my mom for taking them out. I ​ know I judge people because now that they see how I have changed they want to hang with me. However, before, I was someone they wouldn’t want to hang around.

Most people think that I’m quiet, but I’m a very fun, funny, and loud person. That’s because they don’t get to see the real side of me. If you want to see the real side of me, you have to be around me for a long time to see that I’m not really quiet. Most of the time that I’m myself it is when I am at home or when I’m with people who have known me for years. You can’t trust anybody all the way. All they will do is talk about the things that you two talk about to other people, and then you’ll get mad at each other and start fighting.

When things happen to me it takes me a long time to get over it and most of the time I do not get over it. Like one time when a friend said something about me we started fussing. She started getting louder than me and when that happens, I’m going to get louder than you! It’s going to keep going until I feel I’m done. Most of the time, we will stop talking for days until we get tired of not talking to each other. Sometimes it can take three to five weeks for me to get over what someone did to me, or maybe longer if I can’t get over it. In some cases, I just have to let the friend go because we can never get over our problems.

And another thing, if you are my best friend and you’re friends with someone that doesn’t like me and I don’t like them, I believe that you can’t be doing nothing with them but talking bad about me.

One time there was this girl and she was looking at me like she wanted to fight. I walked up to her and asked, “Do you need something?!” She answered, “No.” So I walked away from her. Then she said, ‘I don’t want to look at your ugly self anyway.” She started getting loud, and, like I said before, I don’t like anyone getting louder than me, so as she got louder, I got louder and we both got kicked out of the mall.

th I would tell other 6 ​ graders that friends can sometimes be bad for you and sometimes they can be ​ good for you. You can’t trust nobody and you should not tell everything that happens to you to others. For now, I try to calm my temper. But when things happen, I can’t calm myself fast enough. I am working to calm myself faster. When I can’t calm myself down I put earbuds in and listen to louder music, so I can block out the thoughts. Try it!

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 17 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“What it’s Like Being Tall” Story & Artwork By: Jada Lanae Myers

One day, Not so long ago, I was happy being tall. Until a little girl wanted to fight me. So we fought! She bit my arm. Then I swung and won the fight. The End.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 18 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Big Truck Ride” Story & Artwork By: Darrius Nelson

My dad called my brother and me and said, “Start packing. We are going to Virginia Beach to see your Aunts. I will also drop off the load I have to deliver that’s on my truck.” He picked me up first and then we went to pick up my brother in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

When we arrived to Virginia, my brother asked if he could hook up his Xbox and play it at my Aunt’s house and she said, “Yes.” My brother wanted me to go first on the game, but my cousin slapped my brother and that made my brother cry. ”Dad came into the room and asked, “What happened?!”I told him that my cousin slapped my brother because he didn’t let him go first before me. I felt like I wanted to punch my cousin right in his face. After that, all I heard in the other room was yelling between my Aunts and dad about my cousin hitting my brother.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 19 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“First Time Playing Football” Story & Artwork By: Torian Rahshawn Pope

Two years ago, my Grandma came home and told me I was trying out for football. That made me happy because I loved to play football, but I hated watching it on TV. The reason I love football is because my family members said, “You were made for football.”

The first day I got on the field to play football, I saw one of my friends named Mike and ran over to him. My Grandma told me that she talked to people to get me on the team and a man stuck his hand out and shook my hand. I gave him a big handshake. My friend and I went to get our gear. It was time to play a practice game. I ran and hit one of the players like we were instructed to do. Although it was only practice football, I know that I knocked the wind out of his chest. ​

“Being in a Tornado” Story & Artwork By: Brandon Alejandro Cruz-Rivera

It was dark and raining outside. I was 7 years old and at home with my family. At first I thought it was just a rainstorm, but it wasn’t. As I was sitting in my room I heard a big BANG! My dad and uncle yelled from his room, “Hurry, Hurry, Get out!” I started running with them right behind me. When I reached the front of my room the kitchen collapsed. When the kitchen fell, it was quick. I was really scared because I didn’t think that this could actually happen.

Outside there were people running and trees falling. We couldn’t get out of our house because there was a tree in front of the door. My dad found a way to get out and ran to our car. He discovered there were trees and leaves covering our car, too. One of my dad’s friends came and he took us to where he lived. We used to live in the city of Raleigh, but later we moved to Durham, North Carolina.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 20 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

Continued … “Being in a Tornado” Story & Artwork By: Brandon Alejandro Cruz-Rivera

For three weeks we were homeless. Our family even stayed at my uncle’s house until my dad started working for a company. Eventually, we moved into a new house and lived a normal life again. For a while after experiencing the tornado, I thought that when I heard thunderstorms that they were going to be tornados. So far, the thunderstorms we’ve experienced in Durham have not become tornados.

“Rumors About Me” Story & Artwork By: Kenyonna Tykiara Spruill ​ ​

During the beginning of the school year I was just getting to know people. I never did or said anything mean or bad about anybody. But there was this one girl who kept talking about me. She was telling people that I was “bald, ugly, and that I was a T.H.O.T (That Hoe Over There).” I started wondering to myself, what did I do to her?

One day she walked up to me and said, “I want to fight you!” The outside of me was like, “Okay! Let’s go. We can do this right now!” The girl went overboard and told people that I was scared of her. When I learned about the rumor she was spreading about me I could taste string beans and I hate string beans. I was so mad. Yet, we never fought. Turns out the girl was talking about everybody. She and my best friends did get into a fight, though.

I learned you shouldn’t care about what people have to say about you and I make smarter choices by listening to adults’ opinions.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 21 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Best Friends Keep it 100” Story & Artwork By: Cynthia Umanzor ​ ​

In third grade, I met my best friend. She was a nerd with glasses and quiet. At first, we hated each other for no reason. th When we were in 4 ​ grade I had a birthday party and invited my ​ friend, Kassandra. She took Anna, my best friend, with her. I didn’t want Kassandra to take her because I didn’t like Anna. I was so mad that I kept telling Anna to leave my party, but she wouldn’t because she didn’t have a ride home. We never said a thing about each other face­to­face about how we didn’t like one another. When we got to fifth grade we’d talk about each other behind one another’s backs. Eventually we stopped.

Then one day I followed her on Instagram and we started to talk through Kik. Once we got into a group convo with Heydi, Angel, and Ashley. This led to an argument with Ashley since we shared that we didn’t like her. Ashley decided to tell the principal that me, Anna Heydi and Angel were bullying her. After the principal got involved we stopped. I was so mad that in my head I kept saying, “Snitch!”

Anna and I started to talk even more and went to the movies together to see ‘The Fault in Our Stars.” A couple of days later, my best friend and Anna’s old best friend, started to hangout. They started acting fake towards us because Anna and I would hang out together without them. For example, they would never text back and they didn’t talk to us that much anymore. That’s when I and Anna decided to stop talking to them. Then we became best friends. Now we are going on one year being best friends.

Anna’s friendship is very valuable to me. Her problems are my problems and mine are hers. Our friendship improved because we would hang out even more than before and we would chill at each other’s houses. Not all friends will last. You just have to find the friends who hold the friendship down. I won’t trip when people become fake towards me. I’ll just let them go. Not everyone is gonna keep it 100, so you just have to find the ones who will. Find somebody who will keep it 100.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 22 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“On My iPod” Story & Artwork By: Carlos Guiterrez-Villianueva

When I first brought my IPod to school, I was on it all day. The second day, it got took away, but I got it back then. However, I was scared thinking I was never going to get it back. Then the next day, the next day, and the next day, my iPod kept getting taken away.

Then the school administrators said, “If the iPod gets taken away again, you won’t get it back again. Your parents will have to come and get the iPod.” Once again I was scared because I like to use my iPod a lot and if my parents have to come and get my iPod, they will be mad. I know that if my mom had to get it back from the school office, she wouldn’t. Instead, she’d leave it at the school.

What I wanted to do was use my iPod when it was free time, so it would not be taken away. I figured out the way that my iPod gets taken away. Mainly, it is because I play on it, text, and do a lot of stuff on my iPod. It also gets taken away because I love Wi­Fi. It is fun! The only time I can use the wireless internet is when I’m at school because at home I do not have Wi­Fi.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 23 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Playing Black Ops 2 for the First Time” Story & Artwork By: Eduardo Hernandez Zagada ​ ​ My mother was taking us to the mall for my brother’s birthday. We were taking him to the Van’s store for him to pick out shoe colors that he loves the most for my mother to buy. My brother and I were walking around in the mall when I pointed out GameStop. My mother said, “Sure you can go, but you have to meet up in the cafeteria.”

Once inside we were looking for some games. We decided to choose between GTA5 (Grand Theft Auto 5) and Black Ops II. I wanted GTA5, but my brother wanted Black Ops II.I said, “Okay,” only because it was his birthday. We get along and don’t fight about stupid stuff. We always care about each other, so I was alright with him getting things for his birthday.

Once we reached our home, we rushed out of the car and into my room. As soon as we turned on the PS3 (PlayStation3) we put the game in to play it. It was an online game, so I had to put the Wi­Fi password in. My brother allowed me to play first and I was so into the game I could not stop playing it. I played every day, even when I got home from school. However, my brother plays more than me because it’s his game. Always remember to respect family and others.

“A Soccer Game with Friends”

Story & Artwork By: Brandon Nava-Avila

On my first day at the gym we ran two laps outside. When inside and my coach gave us the ball and no one knew I could play soccer. Everyone was really good at soccer on the other team, but I was part of the other team that was not so good.

I taught myself how to play soccer. I also learned a few moves from my friends in elementary school. When my team was starting we had one goalie, one defender, and three strikers. I was a striker.

The game began and the other strikers were not passing the ball, so when I got the ball from the opposing team, I passed by two people. All I was thinking was so not lose the ball! Then I passed it to my friend, but somebody took it from him, and the guy scored a goal. I felt embarrassed when we lost the ball. Goal after goal we continued losing the ball. We were losing so bad that some people switched teams, but I chose not to because even though we were losing the soccer game was still fun. We lost 3­11 that game. The next soccer game we played, we won. If you play soccer and lose the ball, work on getting the ball back. Don’t give up.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 24 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Field Trip to D.C.” Story & Artwork By: Luis Alejandro Baires

It was 5:00 a.m. and I was fast asleep. My dad said, “Get ready!” I woke up, got myself together, and went to the car. A few minutes later we arrived at the school where a bus awaited us with teachers and many students from my school. The bus driver drove off and was headed to D.C.. Me and my friends played out 3DS games for a short while and then I slept because it was still 5:30 a.m. Later, during the ride, my friend Michael and I made a game up on the bus.

When we finally got there we were going to go to the hotel first, but something happened at that hotel. We found another hotel to lodge at and went to our rooms. There was one issue I noticed immediately. There were four beds and six people, including a teacher. The teacher slept in a bed alone and one person had to sleep by themselves as well. We decided to flip a coin. So there was me, Bryan, Michael, Joey and Tyree. Joey and Tyree flipped the coin first and Tyree won. Next, I and Bryan tossed the coin and I won. Then, Tyree and I flipped the coin, and I won. Lastly, Mike and me, flicked the coin, and I won, so I could sleep alone!

That night, I and my friend Bryan were playing out 3DS games until we had to go to sleep. In the morning, we got ready, went downstairs to eat, and I chose to eat cereal with toast. After breakfast we boarded the bus to go to the aquarium. We saw sharks, dolphins, stingrays, and many other animals. After we saw the animals, we went to see a 4D short movie about Spongebob and it was cool. I bought a little toy at the gift shop as a souvenir that goes in when you hold the top and then it goes out. The varying movement makes it hard to hold that toy. The aquarium trip was my favorite part of the trip to D.C.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 25 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Florida Trip” Story & Artwork By: Khadijah Brown

This summer day started off normal with me asking my mom, “Can I go outside to play?” She said, “Yes.” As soon as I was outside my cousin came over and she said, “We are going somewhere.” I knocked on my friend’s door and asked her if she could come outside to play as well. She came out and we played in the water in the backyard until it was time to come indoors. In the backyard, me, Jamiya and Mackenzie had on shorts, short sleeved shirts and no shoes. We were playing with my friend’s water hose to stay cool. We played in the backyard because we could not go to the front of the building to have play time. Since we live in apartments, the lady who owns the place said, “If you play with water then you have to go in the backyard.” I felt she was nice since she allowed us to play with the water hose.

We went to bed around 5:00 p.m. Then we got up and gathered in the van to go to Florida for a family reunion that was fun. When my sister Mackenzie said, “Look a tornado is coming!” We went inside the house and my Aunt was crying. Jamiya, Mackenzie, and I were about to cry, but we all decided to entertain ourselves instead. Eight minutes later the storm was over. We continued to play inside until the night time fell and we went asleep.

I learned to go inside quickly and stay indoors until the tornado is over or watch the news before you play outside for storm warnings. I will never go outside if there is a storm and I will still travel because I get to see new things.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 26 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“When I Almost Fell to my Death” Story & Artwork By: Harry Rosas Contreras

One day my 9­year­old sister and I were playing around having fun, and I suddenly thought we should do something else. After thinking for a while I came up with something sneaky. I told my sister that I would climb to the top of the house. I started climbing up and when I almost made it to the top of the house my hand slipped off the house and I fell backwards. As I fell, I started thinking “Why am I doing this?”

When I landed, it felt weird, like my back was kind of broken. It hurt kind of bad and I, like, could not move. My injury made me feel like I was floating in the air on the clouds, but my sister woke me up with a dash of water on my face. I told my sister what happened in my thoughts. And she told me, “You got knocked out when you fell off the house.” Then I said to her, “Don’t tell mom!” She knew my back was strong, so she didn’t say anything. I learned that if houses or mountains are slippery, wear gloves.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 27 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Parts of My Life” Story & Artwork By: Sandra Alicia Martinez Cortez

When I as 7 years­old, I remember playing with my brother and cousins when a man standing by a tree started staring at us. Then, before I noticed anything, he took out his gun and started blasting it at us. That was the first time I almost got shot. To be honest, I have no idea why he was shooting. Since I was so young, all I know is that I was scared and ran for my life. Later on that year my parents separated and we moved to Texas to live with my abuelita (grandma). My dad stayed here in North ​ ​ Carolina. I fell into depression, feeling lonely with nobody to talk to or even chill with in Texas. So, one day I got a broken glass and started cutting my arm. I always blamed my mom for leaving my dad. Well, I was thinking that she left him. I am already going to counseling for depression to get help. While attending school in Texas I did not have friends and I barely went to school. If I did go to school, I called home so I could leave early. As a result, when it was time to take the E.O.G tests, I didn’t really know rd anything on it and I flunked the 3 ​ grade. My mother had me go to summer school, pero (but) they didn’t th ​ ​ ​ pass me to the 4 ​ grade because since I missed too many days of the school year. ​ My parent decided to get back together again and then I went to Merrick­Moore, finishing school th there. My parents weren’t aware that when my brother was in 6 ​ grade he had homies from a gang called, ​ “Southside” 13. I met my brother’s homies and we just chilled almost every day and I started dating a Cholo. My brother had represented TCS, a clique on the Southside Well. As for me, I just respect Southside, even though my homies have asked when am I going to get jumped in, but I am not. I know I could put my family in danger. What stopped me from getting jumped in is that I would have to steal, jump people, and I am not like that. I just like hanging out with the gangs, even though I sometimes would like to get jumped in. About one year and 3 months later, my mom left my dad and went to live in Oklahoma with my step dad. I was thinking I have to leave everybody I loved without saying goodbye?! I missed my brother so much and then months passed and I came here to Durham, North Carolina. When I saw my brother I wanted to cry tears of joy, but I held in my tears because all of my friends were there and I didn’t want them to see me cry. Months have passed and I decided to stay here in Durham, N.C. and live with my dad and brother. My friends, brother and I went to a park and saw a guy from a different gang. My homies threw up their gang signs and the other gangster called his homies to come and blast us. So, basically that means to shoot us. Afterwards, we went to another party. A cholo ran outside to fight, and we also ran out because we wanted to see that! As we were crossing the street my brother got ran over, flipping to the right and it sounded like he got shot. When he got up he was holding his ribs and we thought he got shot, so I and my friends looked at each other, almost dropping to the ground and almost losing it until he said, “I am okay…. I didn’t get shot. I am only hurting from the car hitting me.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 28 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

Continued … “Parts of My Life” Story & Artwork By: Sandra Alicia Martinez Cortez

The best outcome I can think of for my life is having my all family gather at the beach again! My advice to anyone reading this story would be to keep your crown up and don’t let it fall. Don’t show your fear or your sadness. Instead show them you can be brave and strong like you truly are.

“Drowning to Death” Story & Artwork By: Nircer De LaCruz-Covarrubias

My dad asked me to join him and go to his friend’s house. When we arrived, we stood outside of his house waiting for his friend to come out. After he came out, we went to the beach near his house. My dad’s friend brought his two kids along who were around my age. Next, we went to a pond behind his friend’s house. When I looked over the pond I started getting a little dizzy. I fell into the water. I felt like I was being pulled in the water. I was lucky that my dad’s friends saved me. He said, “Are you okay?!?!” I was thinking of my dad and what his reaction would have been to my falling into the pond. My advice to readers, don’t go alone to some places. Eventually, we went back home and we were looking at turtle walking along when we got out of the car.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 29 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“My Dad’s DJ Business & Parties” Story & Artwork By: Jasmine Suzanna Johnson

The first party I went to was very fun and it was exciting to dance with people. The next party was boring. My friend put paint on people’s cars. EVERYTIME WE ​ GO WITH MY DAD HE DOES SOMETHING TO GET IN TROUBLE !!!! There were some ​ people there who saw that he was doing and they told his dad. My friend and his dad left. He gets bored at the parties and finds something to do that always leads to him getting in trouble. I also like going to the parties because we record each party and watch it the next day. At another party, my dad’s friend got so drunk he was dancing and he passed out in the car. I kind of felt bad because we left him there all night. The only part I don’t like about the parties is when we have to clean up all the things left behind and it’s late at night.

The last party I went to was bad because THERE WAS A MAN WHO GAVE ME AND MY COUSIN BEER, but we poured it out. Then he kept trying to dance with us and he asked to be our friend, trying to get our phone numbers. My grandpa saw him and he talked to the man. My grandpa says the man told him, “I am cousins with Diego.” And that’s my dad’s name. THEN THAT MAN went to a little girl and he was very creepy. Her father came and got her when he saw that man talking to her. I think at parties you should stay with the people you know. Don’t talk to them, if you don’t know them. And don’t accept the things they try to give you. For example, don’t accept alcohol. And don’t’ dance with them!!!

“Summer Time Flies” Story & Artwork By: Kamari Christian Kelly

During the summer, I would not wake up until 4:00 p.m. every day. I played sports and played video games from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. And I played games like GTA5 (Grand Theft Auto 5), Halo 4, and Minecraft. I played games with my friends a lot that summer. It was still fun and fascinating though because I had cookouts with my family. We had great times together. I also went to a baseball game. My summer was fantastic all around, both outside and inside. Then when school came back into session it was over for me.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 30 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“School” Story & Artwork By: Anna Jannette Little

School can be a depressing part of your life. Especially in middle and high school because it is where you start trying to change to fit in. There are a lot of judgmental people and words hurt. You will meet many backstabbers, bullies, and different groups of people.

Many teachers will start to annoy you, and you begin thinking that no one cares. The teachers annoy me by always complaining. No matter how hard you try at something in school it seems to just keep you worried. School can be very stressful and hard, especially when you think about passing to the next grade.

Sometimes you’ve got to think and tell yourself, “YOLO… You only live once,” so you might as well make the best of it. In the future one day you will probably regret not focusing on school and wishing you could go back in time to redo it all.

Some people have different opinions in school. Some people love it and it’s all they do. Others hate it and think nothing of it. My opinion about school is in the middle of love and hate. I know that I want a good life in the future, but other times school just keeps me worried. I just don’t want anything to do with it sometimes. Any others feel the same way I do probably because school causes a lot of people to get anxiety.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 31 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“My First Official Neal Soccer Game” Story & Artwork By: Roberto Luna

It was one sunny afternoon when the entire soccer team and I were headed to Mr. Young’s classroom (a.k.a Coach Young). Suddenly, he was beside the Assistant Coach or ESL teacher, Mr. Bynam.

Coach Young handed out jerseys to every soccer player that plays for the Neal Soccer team, including their own number. But since I didn’t play for the team and I was only in sixth grade, I didn’t get a jersey. th th They were only allowed for 7 ​ and 8 ​ graders who ​ ​ were eligible to play on the team. They decided to bend the rules, giving me, and every practice squad player, a soccer jersey anyway because I was the Manager for the Neal Soccer team! This jersey has a special number for me, 11!!!!! I always dreamt of getting that number. I was also given the nickname “Butters,” because my cleats were golden boots like butter.

My dress code as the soccer team Manager was to wear short sleeves, shorts, and cleats when it was time for practice training. And if it were a game, we’d put on our uniform and train for a moment before the game started. The Coach would tell our team to go to sleep and sing some songs and cheers for the win on the bus ride home.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 32 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Sixth Grade Year” Story & Artwork By: Isaura Aranda-Morales

In sixth grade, at first you feel weird. My first day of school I was wearing a purple shirt, light blue jeans, and black glittery TOMS. I was newly registered at my home school, Neal, and I didn’t want to be here. I got accepted to the school of Creative Studies. I am good at making art like drawing eyes, people, flowers and doodling, so this was a perfect fit. I don’t’ play sports, but if Karate is a sport then I DO. But my mother found out there was not a bus to transport me there since it was not zoned as my home school. When we got this news, I knew I was going to have to go to Neal for school.

When I came through the door, I didn’t feel at home. In my heart, didn’t think I was supposed to come to this school. My sibling went there and they said, “It feels like you are not at home.” I knew Neal was an uncomfortable place. At the open house, they did not have me in the system yet because I registered late. My mother and I waited two and a half hours to get my schedule. Once we received it, a staff member walked us down the Pioneer hallway and asked someone, “Have they transitioned yet?” A lady with braids and a bun on the back of her head said, “Yes.” She told me to have a seat.

At first I looked around and I saw no one that I knew, until a girl with long braids waved at me. She was a friend from last year and she said, ‘Come sit over here.” I walked towards her with a look like “What am I doing here!” The moment I sat down the bell rung. I didn’t know where to go, so I just followed my friend while looking at my schedule. We walked into a gym where I met my coach named “Coach Howell.” I sat down on the bleachers, but I really didn’t know who to talk to, so I just went with th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 33 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

Continued … “Sixth Grade Year” Story & Artwork By: Isaura Aranda-Morales the flow. Coach Howell said, “Go for a lap.” I really did not feel like running a lap because I was wearing new and nice shoes. As I was running I was thinking that I should have brought my TOMS. We went inside and toured the locker room where we would be changing.

Next, Coach Howell took us to the lunch room. Again, I felt I didn’t know anyone and I would be sitting all alone. But I saw some old friends and that was such a relief. When lunch was over I found myself walking down the same hallway as before. I asked a medium height woman, “Where are the classes on this list?” She said, “Come in and find your name.” At first, she looked mean, but now I realize that she is not.

The bell rang and everybody went to ask the teacher where there next class is? She said, ‘It is next door.” I said, “Thank you.” Then I sighed, “Next teacher ” Her room was like my old Spanish … classroom, but instead it was Math. I really didn’t pay attention in class. It was just review for me. At the end of the day I kind of got lost when trying to find my bus. I saw a girl from my neighborhood and followed her pretending to act like I knew where I was going. I sat beside a girl with short curly hair who got off the bus before me. I got home and went to sleep.

Looking back I believe that you should not think bad things about the new school you are going to. Think of the good things. Now I know I like Neal and I am glad I am here.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 34 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Rough Football” ​ Story & Artwork By: Nazir Nehiemiah Norman

Football is a rough sport. I think you should learn the basics before starting to play. The most important part about football is safety. To play contact football you need pads, such as shoulder pads, knee pads, thigh pads, and ear pads inside your helmet.

I know all of this because I have played football for two years. I do not have a favorite player in football. I got interested in playing football because my cousin DeAndre played in high school. I played football for the Tarheel Kids for the 8­11 year old and the Durham Titans, ages 8­11 years old. I want to go to the NFL. To be successful at football I have to work hard, eat healthy, and complete my school work.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 35 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“The Day My Brother Went From Bad to Good” Story & Artwork By: Jamiya Tilson

My brother started having bad behavior in elementary school. He brought a BB gun to school and told people he had it in his book bag. He got the BB gun in the summer. And I think he slipped up and told the wrong person about it. That person told the principal, so they called him into the office. They said, “Son. Do you maybe have any weapons in your bag?” He got charged for having the BB gun at school, was sent to Lakeview, and put on house arrest. And I was like, “Oh my goodness,” because someone my brother told, told the office he had it. The adults said, “That’s exactly what you get!” Then he got disciplined. My brother was bad because he got on probation and had a bad record under his name. He always got suspended from school. And he continuously argued and fought with my mom. My brother became good because he simply went to court and got his record cleaned up, cleared. Then he got a job. Don’t decide to do bad things in school because school determines your life. And if you don’t make it through school, you won’t make it through life.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 36 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“My Family of Musicians” Story & Artwork By: Patrick K. Williamson

My musical experience started when I was little and my mom bought me a guitar. I have five musicians in my family. My uncle Joe taught me how to play it. As I got older, I got a little more serious about my music. The benefits of being a musician are that you get to travel, eat great foods, and have connections. I tried acting and when I did an online audition for the show Phineas and Herb, I didn’t have any professional acting experience. Sadly, I did not get the part, so I joined a choir. I sing in first tenor. In the choir I traveled all around the world. I have been to Canada, England, and next I’m going to Hawaii. Overall, music makes me the happiest.

“I Am” By: Anonymous

My name is five words long. Yes, it’s a stupid long name. However, if you’re curious how I got it, please stick around. I was born on July 14, 2003 and I grew up with a very nice family without problems. I never knew I had a horrible parent. It was my dad. He was abusive and my mom moved away long ago. I never knew stuff like this because she never told me until I asked. I was an all around good hearted kid. I had a grandmother named Maw. We moved a lot. It’s because of other former boyfriends my mom dated. I didn’t know what was going on, so I sat there and supported. The only reason she didn’t give up is because she had a five year old to take care of. Later, about four years after that, I was pretty big for a 9 year old. We loved Maw, but then… she was gone… I don’t like talking about it.

After that I turned into… nothing. I cut myself off from my friends and I always just passed by them when they say, “Hi!” I didn’t eat much and barely talked at school or home. On my birthday I locked myself in my room. My mom was not doing well, not in health, but just in general. She was trying to get us out of Oregon and back in North Carolina. Plus we were low on money. To give you an example, we

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 37 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

Continued … “I Am” By: Anonymous got to the point that I was sleeping on the couch; mom felt like a horrible mother. But as long as I had food, water, shelter, her, and a place to sleep I was fine. She felt better because I was there to comfort her.

I never feel like I can make it, but I drag on with life. I’m eleven now. Life is going down, low on money, and I’m at a horrible school. My school is bad. I barely have any friends; most people just hate me, and don’t think I have feelings. Lots of people treat me badly, especially four in particular like D*****, N***** , the nasty (Well that’s what I call her), Q*****.

I just lose… Plus I am pretty pathetic for a person. I like playing video games and Anime. I’m always trying to get friends, but everyone thinks I’m just a nerd to them… I’m alone… I get F’s on my report card and I’m lazy, out of power. I fear that my family members will go one by one.

“Penny” Story & Artwork By: Jessica Kendall Bumgarner

At three years old I was in my living room alone with a jar of change. There were pennies, quarters and dimes. I opened the jar and took out one penny. When I picked up the penny, I closed the jar and put it back into my mom’s room. Then I went back in the living room and put the penny in my mouth, then swallowed it. To this day I have not seen the penny again. ​

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 38 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Papa E. We Miss You” Story & Artwork By: Jessica Kendall Bumgarner

My uncle Eric, I and my family were at the lake. He has asthma like my mom and he also has heart problems. We were at the lake to have a cook out. I was swimming in the shallow end of the pool when my sister, Tina, told me, my little sister, and two cousins to get out of the water. We did and then we asked, “What happened?” They would not tell me, so I stood up and noticed that they were dialing 9­1­1 while pulling him out of the water. My uncle Eric was pale, blue, and almost dead. My mom and dad took me, my cousins, and sister home. My big sister came home and said, “I will be watching you, so your mom and dad can go to the hospital.” When my mom and dad came home they pulled me to side, away from everyone, since me and my uncle were really close. “We have something to tell you.”And I said “What?!” ”Your uncle Papa E died.” I started crying and crying. To this day, I still cry and miss him and I never will stop!

“My Sister's First Baby” Story & Artwork By: Jessica Kendall Bumgarner

April 16, 2013 a baby was born. But I am going to start from the beginning. It was a Monday morning when my sister and her fiancé were in the living room. My mom came to my room and said, “How do you feel about having a baby niece?” And then I and my little sister said, “Good, I guess.” Then my mom Tina took me and my sister to school. When we got to school my best friend Carli said, “Hi.” I responded, “Hi, guess what? My sister is having a baby girl.” Then at the end of the day my sister came to pick me and my little sister Jalyn up. My bigger sister did not know she was pregnant; it was almost her due date. There was only two months left of her pregnancy. April 16, 2013. My niece Hayley Lynn Penny was born. I was in the room when she first came out, but when my sister was pushing to give birth, I could not hold my lunch down. Now my niece is one and about to be two in two weeks; I have never loved her more.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 39 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Third Time’s The Charm” Story & Artwork By: Jaidzia Nicole Campbell

The first time I broke my arm was when I was two years old. I was on a seesaw with my cousin who was one year older than me. She jumped off when the seesaw went up. I almost fell, but I caught myself. It hurt so much it like five­hundred bees were stinging my arm all at once. I had to get a cast. It was hot pink and my mom drew a picture of the cartoon character Dora to make it creative.

The second time I broke my arm I was at school in third grade. I had just returned from lunch and was playing tag with my friends. My friend Skkye was tagged as it and she was about five feet away from me. While turning around right then I knew that I screwed up; I tripped over a piece of wood. “Crack,” was the sound of my elbow when it hit the ground. The fall scratched a hole in my tights, both elbows, and palms. They gave me three band­aids and told me to wash it off. Little did I know, my arm was broken. It lasted until 4:00 p.m. in that condition and fell at 11:00 am.

My mom found out my arm was broken by pulling the jacket off my arm in ninety­five degree weather. She was so angry her face turned , she walked into the school and asked the secretary, “Why didn’t you write an accident report?!” And the secretary called the teacher and my mom asked her, “Why didn’t you write an accident report?!”

My mom left and took me to the hospital. When we rolled up to get out of the car and go into the hospital my mom said, “Get up.” But every time I moved it really hurt like I had got shot with a BB gun twice. So my brother ran inside the hospital and got me a wheelchair. When I was rolled in it was packed, so I was there for about five hours. My aunt Jackie came and she gave me some Flaming Hot Cheetos and Sprite soda. When I was seen by the doctor they said, ‘You broke your arm and bowed your wrist.” They put a cast on me at the hospital. It was right before the summer when this happened. I was so bored that I read that summer. I dislike reading books.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 40 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Almost Hit By A Car” Story & Artwork By: Aaron Dwight Clark III

One day I was at home with my brother and I got up out of bed, slipped on my slides and went downstairs for breakfast. I ate eggs, potatoes, and bacon. I went in my mom’s room and lay on her feet where I took a nap. When I awoke I went back upstairs and my bro said, “Let’s go to the village.” I said, “AIright, let me go get dressed.” So I grabbed my keys and ran down stairs with my money for the bus.

The bus pulled up and I ran into the road to catch the bus. A silver 2014 Nissan car came at me and I froze; the Nissan spun around me, hitting a Jeep. My bro ran off the bus to me. No one was hurt. My mother called me and took me to UNC Hospital, where they also said I wasn’t hurt at all. When I went home my moms said, “What happened?” I told her, “We were going to the Village. I was rushing across the street to get to the bus stop before the bus left, and my brother said, ‘Aaron nooo!!!’”

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 41 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Sprained My Wrist” Story & Artwork By: Nallely Mateos-Garcia

My mom and I were looking out the window to see that there was a party outside. I was standing on top of an air conditioner. As I was getting down, I tripped somehow on all the cards on the ground. My whole body weight all came down on my arm, so it hurt badly. The pain lasted 3 days and that is when my family took me to the hospital. The doctor gave me a bandage t put on my wrist.

Upon my return to school, it was difficult to write. As time passed, my wrist got better. Then one day, when were behaving well at school, they gave us tickets to go to Wheels.

Wheels is a Roller Skating Rink. My friend and I went to Wheels very happy. I didn’t know how to roller skate, but I still put them on. Soon I started to grab on things and ask for some help from others. Eventually I could go by myself on the rink to skate. When I fell I took off my skates and just sat there for the rest of the visit to Wheels. When my wrist started hurting after the fall, I actually did not like being at Wheels. It was boring.

“Good at Playing Soccer” Story & Artwork By: John Alexander Gomez

Jose, my 15 year old brother, taught me how to play soccer when I was 9 years old. I was watching TV when my brother said, “Let’s go play soccer.” I agreed and we went outside. He said, “Kick the ball.”I did, but it didn’t go far. He started laughing and I told him, “I don’t want to play soccer.” That’s when he said, “Okay. I’m going to teach you how to play and buy your cleats.” The next day we went to the store and he bought me T90 cleats by Wayne Rooney, a soccer star.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 42 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

Continued … “Good at Playing Soccer” Story & Artwork By: John Alexander Gomez

They were all black and had the Nike sign in Orange and the T90 label. My brother had cleats called CR7 by soccer star Fernando Torres. They were golden and , but the CR7 sign is gold and the bottom is gold, too.

We went to the park to practice how we kick the ball. Every day I kept getting better and next he taught me the skills of soccer and other techniques. After many more practices, and turning 10 years old, my brother Jose told me that I was ready to play soccer. They enrolled me on a soccer team called, The Rangers.

My first soccer game was good because we won and they lost 1 to 0. They were about to make a goal, but I blocked it. I was a defender on the soccer team.Never give up on your talent. Who knows, it might be soccer, but if you’re giving up you’ll never know.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 43 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Trying to be Like Everyone Else” ​ Story & Artwork By: Alexander Oneil Phelps ​ ​

I want to fit in without people having to say, “You a Punk,” or saying “You’re scared,” because I choose control my anger. I think about what could happen in the future. I want to do things that can positively help my career and learning. People think I can’t do things because I say, “It hurts,” and “Don’t do that,” when they hit me.

Many people doubted me and it was stressing me. I just can’t prove I’m not like that. It’s like people can hit me thinking I’m not going to hit back, but sometimes I just snap and want to hit back; let out all my years of taking pain from other people. I don’t hit back because I know where I will end up.

I want to be like other boys. They can wear shorts whenever they want. I want to wear Pink, but don’t’ want to because of what people might say. I’ve taken in physical and verbal abuse pain, but can’t say something about it. Today, I stopped wanting to be like everyone else and now people look up to me.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 44 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“Pro Dancer” ​ Story & Artwork By: Jermaine Naree Thomas People have always told me that I will never become a dancer. My mom put me on a dance team. She believed in me. Now I dance with C.I.O.C.A. Before joining dance teams I had to teach myself to dance by looking at my brother’s moves. When I joined, it was hard for me to learn because I was the only boy. It was difficult to learn how to pop or anything, so I had to learn.

The best dances I am good at now are Pop, Krump, and Glide. Pop is a street dance based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a pop or a hit. ​ ​ ​ ​ This is done continuously to the rhythm of a song in combination with various ​ movements and poses. ​ Krumping is a street dance that uses free, expressive, exaggerated, and highly energetic movement. ​ ​ ​ And Gliding is a simple traveling technique of alternating between the toe and the heel of the feet to make the body float smoothly across the floor. It is normally performed sideways. Gliding is related to popping and closely associated with the "moonwalk," made famous by Michael Jackson.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 45 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“About That Dance Life” Story & Artwork By: Tamya Williams

I was born very flexible and have been dancing since I was 2 years old. Dancing was easy to teach myself. I can do tricks with my hand like braiding my fingers, pick up a pencil, and write with it.

While on my neck I can do a back bend and then go into a full split. In fact, I can do multiple kinds of splits! My biggest dream as a dancer is to make other people want to dance like me. The person who inspired me to dance is Ciara. I love when she dances.

One day I’d love and like to dance with Ciara on stage since she is the one who made me want to dance. The Hip­Hop dancing style is my favorite of all to do. A few of the dance moves I know are called, “Watch Me” (Whip & NaeNae) featured in the Silento music video and “Superman” featured in the Soulja Boy music video.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 46 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

“I Love Scary Movies” By: Tamya Williams

I love scary movies, especially those with demons. At my party we were watching scary movies at night and we put red lipstick on the bathroom mirror. We left out of the bathroom and closed the door behind us. Under the door we said, “Bloody Mary!” Bloody Mary is a girl that has a demon in her. When we went back in there the mirror was cracked and the medicine cabinet that was on the wall fell. I knew my mama wasn’t going to do anything to me about it when she got home, except say, ‘What happened?” Then she would get the mirror fixed.

When my mama got home she went in the bathroom and yelled, “What happened to the mirror?!” I said, “We said, ‘Bloody Mary!’, and when we went back in there it was cracked.” My mama didn’t believe us. When my friends went home, she took my phone, TV, and I had to stay in my room with nothing for two weeks. All I did in that room was sit there until the morning.

My mom never got the mirror fixed. We moved three weeks after I broke it. She had to pay the person who owned the house for the broken mirror. I never broke another mirror after that. I didn’t want to get in trouble again and I was scared to do Bloody Mary. Never play the Bloody Mary game at your home by yourself.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 47 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

Scary Spiders” Story & Artwork By: Karizma Tyae Williamson

I’m so scared of spiders, they make me cry. Well, it depends on the size and how it looks. Anyway, one day in the summer, I slept over at my friend’s house. We were so bored with nothing to do. We went to her mom and dad’s room to ask her dad, “Can you get us some balloons?” He said, “Yes.” It took him 10 minutes to get balloons from the store. We took the balloons to the kitchen and filled them with water. I threw one at my friend’s head and she threw one at my arm. We were going back and forth for about five to ten minutes. Tired out, we sat in the grass to take a talk and take a break.

As we started to get up I looked at my arm and there was a medium­sized black spider with hair on it. I screamed loud; crying a little bit. My friend’s mom and Dad hurried outside as I ran around. “What’s wrong?” My friend told her parents what happened. They checked to see if I was okay. I called my mom to come pick me up, I was so scared. She pulled up in a hurry. From this day on, I can’t even look at a spider without getting terrified. I am scared of spiders; they are hairy and have long legs. They also have a lot of eyes, and that isn’t normal. And they can KILL YOU! They have claws by their mouths.

In fifth grade, we went on a field trip to the Museum of Life and Sciences. We went to the part of the museum that had lizards and stuff. My friends know that I am afraid of spiders and they knew spiders were over there. I walked right next to the spider, looked at it, and screamed. People were staring at me, so I went to the other side of the room. My teacher told me to take deep breaths and just sit down. I did what I was told, but I was still paranoid.

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 48 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

URBANESE DICTIONARY th By: 6 ​ Grade Students of Neal Middle School ​ Welcome to the Urbanese Dictionary created by Neal Middle School 6th Graders! Here you will find words that ​ students used in their writing. Every 6th Grade English Language Arts (ELA) student was encouraged to not let ​ spelling or context of the a given word hang them up in theory writing. Because I fluently speak what I refer to as, “Urbanese” I assured them that I could translate their work by code switching. The most important things was for these students, many of whom fear writing, get their stories onto the page without fearing judgment. As you will see, these words are uniquely spelled just how they are spoken, heard, and processed by the students. Now, open your mind and read along. You’re sure to diversify your language skills and expand your cultural awareness.

Enjoy & Thank you in advance for having an open mind & heart, Anita Woodley

1. An = On 2. And = In 3. Ate = At 4. About = Bout 5. Accepted = Asepeded 6. Accident = Acsadent 7. Again = Agne, Agin, Agine, Againg 8. Against = Aginst 9. Aimed = Amid 10. Alright = Ight 11. Always = Aways* 12. And = An, A 13. Annoy = Anooy 14. Applause = Aplause 15. Armor = Amour 16. Arrested = Arressed 17. Asthma – Asma 18. Ancestors = Auntsisters 19. Auntie = Unties 20.Barely = Barly 21. Bathing = Babuing 22. Beat = Bet 23. Because = Bkos, Becose, Kuz 24. Before = Befor 25. Begin = Begine 26. Believe = Belife 27. Benefit = Benifit 28. Bleeding = Beinding 29. Blood = Boold

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 49 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

30.Blue = Blu 31. Bored = Bord 32. Break = Brake 33. Brought = Brung 34. Buildings = Billdinges 35. Bunny = Buney 36. Burdening = Beoning 37. Business = Buisnes 38. Calm = Com 39. Came = Camed 40.Careful = Carefull 41. Catching = Cating 42. Challenge = Chalange 43. Cheetahs = Cheetas 44. Cigarettes = Ciggarets 45. Cinnamon = Cinnammon 46. Climb = Climp 47. Coffin = Coffen 48. College = CollageConditioner = Condisniner 49. Controller = Crochell 50.Cupboard = Kubard 51. Couch = Choch 52. Counseling = Conculan 53. Court = Quart 54. Cousin = Cosin, Cuzin, Cusons, Cuzion, Cuz, Couzin, Cusins, Cozions 55. Curly = Cirly 56. Cutting = Cuting 57. Death = Deaf 58. Defense = Deffense, Difance 59. Didn’t = Did’ent, Did’t 60.Drive = GriveDrowning = Drawning 61. Easily = Easly 62. Education = Edecation 63. Either = Eaither 64. Endangered = Endagerd 65. Excited = Exsited, Exited 66. Experiment = Expirament 67. Explode = Expload 68. Fail = Frialed 69. Family = Famaly 70. Fastest = Fastes

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 50 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

71. Favorite = Favor it 72. Fell = Felled, Fill 73. Felt = Feld, Fell 74. Fight = Fitht, fioth, 75. Field = Feild 76. Find = Fing 77. Finally = Fainly, Finnaly, Finnally 78. First = Fist 79. Flexible = Flaxable 80.Floats = Flows 81. Friends = Frenids, Freinds 82. Fouled = Fould, Filed 83. General = Genarl 84. Getting = Gitting 85. Good = Well 86. Greasy = Greacy 87. Great = Grait 88. Head = Had 89. Heard = Herad 90.Hearted = Harted 91. Hospital = Hospitall 92. House = Hose 93. Hug = Hugged 94. Hurting = Herting 95. Hyped = Haped, Hipe 96. Immediately = Emidatly 97. Irritated = Irratated 98. Jersey = Jerzy 99. Knew = Gnew 100. Kept = Keeped 101. Kick = Kik 102. Laid = Lade 103. Late = Lated 104. Laughing = Laaufing, Laughd 105. Leaving = Living 106. = Leporeds 107. Lying = Lie-ing 108. Little = Lil 109. Losing = Losting 110. Love = Luv 111. Making = Makeing 112.Meeting = Metting

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 51 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

113. Minutes = Minutius 114. Month = Mounth, Mounh, Mouh 115. Neighborhood = Naiborhood 116. Nerves = Nervous 117. Niece = Neise, Neice 118. Nice= Nis 119. Night = Knight 120. No One = Nowon 121. Nothing = Nouthing 122. Normal = Nomarl 123. Offense = Ofance 124. One = Won 125. Opinions = Opions 126. Opposite = Oppsite 127. Oregon = Orgen 128. Packet = Pack it 129. Painted = Panited 130. Panicked = Paniced 131. Party = Partie 132. Passed = Pasted, Past 133. Pathetic = Pethitc 134. Pickaxes = Picaxes 135. Piece = Peice 136. PlayStation = Plastiction 137. Poured = Poored, Purred 138. Practice = Pratics 139. Pretty = Pritty 140. Punched = Poch, Pushed 141. Quickly = Quicley 142. Ran = Rain 143. Really = Realy 144. Reason = Resonen 145. Registered = Regestered 146. Remember = Remebor, Rember 147. Rescued = Resured 148. Restaurant = Resternt 149. Right = Rite 150. Running = Runnin’ 151. Shocked = Schocked 152. Seconds = Saconse 153. Semi – Simi 154. Scared = Scaled

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 52 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

155. Screen = Screan 156. Scrimmage = Scrimage 157. Shinning = Shineing 158. Since = Scince 159. Sink = Sicnek 160. Sit = Set 161. Seat = Set 162. Slammed = Samied 163. Slave = Saivl 164. Slipped = Sliped 165. Smile = Smil 166. Soaking = Sonking 167. Stairs = Stares 168. Steals = Steels 169. Stick =Stink 170. Stole = Stoll 171. Stopped = Stoped 172. Store = Sore 173. Stupid = Stupe 174. Supposed = Serpose, Post to 175. Suspended = Susbended 176. Sword = Sords 177. Taught = Thought, Tough 178. That = Dat 179. Them = Theam 180. Themselves = Theirselves, Themselfs 181. There’s = Thirs 182. Though = Thoe, Tho, Throw, Throught 183. Throw = Trow 184. Toilet = Towetl 185. Took = Toke 186. Touch = Toch 187. Touchdown = Thouchdown 188. Track = Trake 189. Transition = Trasiten 190. Tried = Tryed, Try 191. Trouble = Troble 192. Turtles = Turtule 193. Uncle = Uncoul, Uncals 194. Until = Intell, Inteil, Intail, Untill 195. Upon = Apone 196. Use = Us

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist

PAGE - 53 “Stories Come to Life!” Literary Residency with Anita Woodley April 6-16, 2015

197. Verbal = Verboll 198. Waited = Wated 199. Want = Whant 200. Was = Was, Wuz, Waz, Wus 201. Watch = Wath 202. Watching = Wathcing 203. We = Whe 204. Wednesday = Wensday 205. Well = Will 206. What = Wha, Wat 207. When = Wene 208. When = Whan, Whent 209. Whopping = Woopen 210. Wild = Wile 211. With = Whith, Withe 212. Winning = Winng 213. Worry = Worried

th Ms. Rachel Dabiero 6 *​ Grade Core Classes 1-3 * Neal Middle School, Durham, NC ​ Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline and & The Durham Arts Council’s C.A.P.S Program ​ ​ Instructed by Anita Woodley, Award-Winning Journalist & CAPS Literary/Theatre Teaching Artist