Expedition Three by Myles R.

Day One: We hiked about three miles from the school, mostly along the road, which eventually ended in grass and then we were in the forest. Shortly after getting into the woods, we stopped and ate lunch next to the creek. For the next four hours, I helped clear campsites, which we then used to set up our tents. Joseph cooked our lentils and rice, and then we went to class. After class, Joseph and I sat around our campfire in the dark for about an hour, and then climbed into the tent for the night. During the night, raccoons came into our campsite, and Joseph threw his excavating tool toward where the sounds were coming from. He missed and his shovel got stuck in a tree, but the raccoons did not come back that night, or the next.

Day Two: I woke up and started the fire. Joseph cooked the oatmeal, while I started collecting more firewood. We met up with the other students for class and then started clearing more campsites. After a short lunch break, we had another class and then Joseph and I cooked supper. After the last class of the evening, we sat around the fire and talked awhile in the dark, and then went to bed.

Day Three: I woke up at 5:30 and started the fire, while Joseph got the oatmeal ready to cook. As it was cooking, we started packing up our camp so we could move up to Saddle Camp. It only took us 30 minutes to pack our gear, and then we started hiking. We came upon a blocked portion of the trail, and, as I was crossing a wet log, I slipped and hurt myself. Not badly, but I could barely use my right side that day. We cleared a gigantic fallen oak tree off the trail and continued on. We stopped for a break and read 1984 for about an hour, and then we started up a tiring mountain trail that never seemed to end. Once at the top, we walked along the ridge of the mountains for several hours before reaching Saddle Camp. Down below, I could see small country houses so far away it was like I was looking at them from an airplane. Once we got to Saddle Camp, I started the fire and Joseph and I cooked our lentils and rice and went to class. We returned to our camp, and sat around the fire for a bit, and then went to bed.

Day Four: When I woke up, the wind outside our tent sounded horrible, but when I got outside it wasn’t as bad as it had sounded. I got the fire started so Joseph and I could get our oatmeal cooked. After class, we hiked to Upper Birch Branch, clearing the trail along the way. We had lunch at Upper Birch Branch and then continued to clear the trail for another four hours. When we hiked back up to Saddle Camp, the wind was blowing fiercely.

Day Five: I woke to stiff winds which felt gale force. At intervals I could see the city lights below, and it was spectacular to see them in the dark from on top of a mountain. I gathered wood for the fire while Joseph got our food ready. When light came, I could see a cold front coming in. We started back to Flatwood, and in the process, we cleared an old trail on the way back down. After a short lunch break, we continued toward Flatwood, where we went to class, cleared some more campsites, read some more 1984, cooked some supper, and had another class. Then we went back to our camp, and sat by the fire and talked until it started to rain. Then we went into the tent and to bed.

Day Six: When I woke up it was still raining. I got out of the tent and started the fire. Joseph got the oatmeal ready and cooked it, and then we packed up our camp. By then the rain had stopped, and we were the first tent group to get to the rally point. When everyone was there, we did some final work on our campsites, and a little work on the trail we had been working on there. Then we started our hike back to the school, which didn’t seem as long on the way back as it did on the way out. I was relieved to be back at the school with a roof and a bed and a hot meal waiting for me. The only down side was that the water line had been broken and we didn’t have hot showers. That water was cold!

Earning My Way Back by Jonny C.

I have done some smart things in my life, but I’m going to tell you about something I did recently that wasn’t so smart.

I had gotten really far behind on homework, and I was feeling that, since I didn’t want to be here anyway (I wanted to be home with my friends.), I shouldn’t have to do it. One morning, I decided to tell Ms. Margaret that I wasn’t going to do any more schoolwork, and I quickly found myself outside digging in the cistern alone.

Mr. Kevin came out to talk to me, and he told me how I wouldn’t get to college if I didn’t at least get okay grades in my last three years of high school. As we talked, he helped me understand that my whole future was at stake. Then I wanted to do the schoolwork.

But first, since I made a dumb choice, I had to earn my way back into the classroom. Every day, I worked outside for eight hours, which I had never done before. It was cold, and it was hard, and I only stopped to eat alone in my room. Everyone else knew that if they talked to me they would end up doing the same thing I was doing, so they didn’t.

This experience changed me. It made me so much stronger mentally and physically. Well, maybe not so much physically, but it made me realize that giving up isn’t the answer. Through hard work I have earned my way back to where I want to be, and now I am grateful to have the chance to work hard to get where I want to go in the future.

Caring by Joseph S.

There are many things I care about, but two of them have distinct similarities: knives and relationships. I care about knives because they fascinate me, and I care about relationships because, when they are good, they make my life more enjoyable.

When you first get a new knife, it is shiny and razor sharp, but as it is used and is put to the test time and time again, it gets dulled and nicked. When this happens it is a good idea to care for it by filing out the nicks and honing the blade back to its original edge.

The same can be said for relationships. When you meet a new friend, everything is interesting and fresh, but, as time passes, the friendship is put through the trials of expectation, argument, and separation, which can “nick and dull” its sharpness.

Just as with a knife, a relationship needs to be cared for by regaining lost contact, owning up to past wrongs, and starting fresh.

Idea of the Month by Cree D.

Opening my mind to the idea of completely changing my life is more than just an idea of the month. It is the combination of things I have experienced since arriving at FMA, and it has given me a lot to think about.

Coming from modern society to a farm environment with kerosene lamps and wood heat was pretty extreme, but, for me, the change wasn’t bad. I knew what I had to do to catch up with the rest of the class, and I have thoroughly enjoyed everything I have learned thus far. Before coming here I would never have imagined that I would be taking Etymology, and Business Math, but the class I enjoy the most is Mr. Kevin’s morning History class.

We all wake up by 5:30 every morning (except Sunday) and begin taking notes in class at 6:15. Even in the short time I have been here, I have learned so many life-changing ideas. For example, how just a handful of families (Mr. K. calls them The Dark Lords of Power.) run the whole world. We are currently reading 1984, in Literature, and it amazes me that George Orwell was saying the same thing. At FMA, we are taught not to just take someone’s ideas and make them our own, we are taught to re-read our notes, read other sources, check facts, and finally find our own answers.

Since I have been here, I have learned a great deal and have gained some friends I know I will have for the rest of my life. I wouldn’t trade the experience I am having, and I know it has come at the right time in my life for me to make the most of it.

A Crazy Morning in the Kitchn by Chana K.

Being on the Kitchen Crew, you have lots of good experiences to look back on, but sometimes the worst day can teach you the most. If you let it, it can be pretty funny, too.

My worst day in the kitchen started off badly because I woke up 20 minutes late, looked at the clock, and rushed upstairs to get the fire going. Ms. Sierra let me be the first in the kitchen rather than bailing me out by getting things going at the right time.

The first thing on my “brain”(menu planner) was to start mixing the wet and dry ingredients for coffee cake. I thought I had done that perfectly, so I set it aside. Then I put out the water for hot drinks, which was supposed to be hot, but was more like tepid.

My menu said to make 9 Grain cereal, so I started it, but when Ms. Sierra saw that bugs had gotten in the container, we gave it to the pig. I started oatmeal instead.

Next I realized I needed eggs for the coffee cake, but there weren’t any in the refrigerator. So, in the dark and rain, I ran downstairs to see if there were any in the basement refrigerator. There weren’t. I ran to the chicken coop, very unhappy in the rain, but when I saw the ducks playing in the water, it lifted my spirits a lot. I got the eggs and thought all was well.

Then I realized did not have any milk. I asked Ms. Ava what I should do, and she told me to use powdered milk. She asked me what I needed it for, and I told her I was going to serve it with breakfast. When she realized I didn’t need it for cooking, she said that we just wouldn’t serve milk. So, we had no milk to drink.

I checked the coffee cake, in the oven, just before breakfast, and discovered it was burned to a crisp. Wrong cereal, no milk, charred coffee cake – what a meal!

From that morning’s mishaps, I learned the importance of being prepared; I learned to check to make sure I have what I need, and I learned to pay attention to what I am doing. Those are lessons that work for more than just the kitchen – they’re life lessons.

Movie Review: Braveheart by Patrick C.

Braveheart is the story of the Scottish hero, William Wallace. He fought the English oppressors with all he had left, after they had taken nearly everything away from him. He frightened the English nobles and gave heart to the most reluctant Scottish warriors by charging into battle alongside them. He continued to be an inspiration in the battle for Scottish home rule centuries later even after his capture and execution by the English in 1305 A.D.

This is one of my all time favorite movies, because it honors my Scottish ancestors, who fought alongside the real William Wallace. It shows that if one man has the courage to do so, he can change the lives of his countrymen while resisting tyranny. Wallace’s example has shown me that life should be lived to its fullest, and that I should fight for what I strongly believe in. He showed me this by fighting for freedom and ultimately dying for it. Freedom is something I believe in and should live my life by. As William Wallace states, “Every man dies, but not every man truly lives.” I should live my life by what I believe in and make no compromises, because then I wouldn’t be living my life, but instead living how someone else thinks I should live.

Book Review: The Secret Garden by Hope A.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgsen Burnett is definitely a classic for all ages. It is written in a smooth, easy to read style and has something to which everyone can relate.

Mary, the bold, willful, once spoiled, and friendless heroine, was shipped to England after both her parents had been killed in India. In her now home, owned by a distant uncle whom she has never before met, she feels all alone without many servants to coddle her and tie her shoes. She has no toys, or playmates, only mysterious gardens to explore. One day she hears about a secret garden, and, of course, is curious.

Along with her two new, and first, friends, Dicken, a poor, kind, animal whisperer who has experience in gardening, and her cousin Colin, a weak sickly boy whose sole focus is on his impending death, Mary begins to restore the secret garden behind the wall.

Mary changes in response to her environment and the people around her. Her attitude toward other people and the world changes, her cheeks grow more round, her hair thicker, and she becomes healthier in her mind, soul, and spirit. Colin, who gradually forgets how sick he thinks he is, also begins to enjoy the invigorating effects of being outdoors.

This book, which I read over the weekend, was very vivid and magical. After more than fifty years, this book still shines.

The Walker by Paul B.

I was sitting in this old town,

Waiting for the Greyhound,

To take me away from here.

An old woman sat beside me,

And when I asked her who she was,

She only said, “It’s okay to stay.”

“Why do you think I’m leaving?”

“You’re waiting for the Greyhound,

To take you away from this old town.”

“Good point,” I said.

I told her I was sad.

She said, “Cry.”

I told her, “But I’m the clown.”

She smiled, “Why are you putting on a big show?”

“Because I’ve danced for so long.”

She said, “Then it’s time to walk.”

“But I have to leave this old town,”

“Well I guess you’re a walker now.”

And that day I took the Greyhound,

Out of that old town,

Until it broke down.

And she was right.

I walked, and it got me

A lot farther than dancing.