Mount Snow

Parker Nagtegaal 

It’s about nine o’clock on Sunday January twentieth I’m in Vermont at Mount Snow. It snowed about ten inches the night before. The slopes are covered with fluffy snow. I make the trek upstairs from my room up to the kitchen where I find my dad. He tells me that they are go out on to the mountain in about ten minutes because they woke up late and weren’t able to get out for the first chair at eight o’clock. So I get out frozen Eggos throw them in the toaster and stuff them in my face. No time for maple syrup or butter. I go down stairs throw on my long socks and my shirt with a thin puffy coat. I race back up the stairs my dad and uncle are pretty much ready. I swiftly put on my snow pants and struggle to get on my ski boots. I put on my jacket and helmet and we get out of the door. We walk up to a little “secret” entrance on the mountain. I get out on the trail and I start going down and... I’m stuck. I landed in a untouched patch of snow that made me stop completely. I hike my way down to the chair lift where I reunite with my dad and uncle (who were already down there) and we get in line. We get on the chair and start going up. Once we get off the lift we immediately take a right to the trail. We go down a trail called mine shaft. (It’s a trail with a lot of jumps) so we start going down and I hit my first jump of the day. I go flying through the air I feel like the moment could last forever but then I slam back down on to the ground reminded that I cannot fly. We keep going aloung the trail and we get to a very steep part that leads to a flat point. Because of the thick snow we have to bomb down this hill. I decide to take off my googles so I can get the wind in my face. I race down and make it to the next trail where I get stuck (again) and I have to hike down (again). The snow was so thick that after only on run we all decide to go back to the house because we are all so tired. And while the thick snow was a fun challenge it would have been better without it.

Anticipation While Reading

By Parker Nagtegaal 

         Anticipation can ruin an entire experience. When I read The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn I enjoy it. Mainly because at the current moment the book is very interesting, but because it’s so good in the back of my mind I’m always thinking that it will get very boring. Huck has been on an adventure from a very early point on in the book. So I’ve been eager to read the book every night. But because of this I’m thinking that for a classic this is to interesting, so I’m convinced that it will hit a down hill very soon. I’m reading this book because in Mr Fitzsimmons English class he wanted us to try reading a “Real Book”. By this he meant a classic. Everyone in my class has to read (multiple) classic books in a month. Everyone responded to this negatively, but as everyone started to read we realized that the books aren’t so bad. I started to read Huck Finn. The beginning was kinda boring but it started to pick up. But I can’t help but to think about how boring classics are supposed to be. I never thought that a classic could be interesting; I never thought that I would enjoy this book; I never thought that a classic wouldn’t be boring. This has lead me to (quite literally) judging a book by its cover

I Love My Pets

Parker Nagtegaal 

         
Let’s get this out of the way, people don’t deserve the love that animals give them. At home I have a dog and two cats, most of the time there a lot of work. I have to wake up at six thirty on the weekends to feed Jack. I have to take him on walks. The cat liter needs to be changed frequently. Me and my family have to train them. We have to go out to the store to buy them food. But what we do for them is no match for what they do for us. Whenever I get home my dog (Jack) comes running to the door scratching the floors with his uncut nails. He looks up at me in such a way that makes me feel truly appreciated. He is the first family member I say hi to when I get home because he doesn’t wait for me to find him. He will let me pet him when I’m happy, sad, or angry. And while he benefits from my petting, I benefit ten times more because he loves me with out question. The cats fall asleep with me. They keep me warm. They trot around the house making it feel full of movement. I wish I could speak to them how much I appreciate them but all I can do is feed and pet them. If that’s the best I can do then I will do it.

Read A Classic

from the perspective of Parker Nagtegaal

 A classic is a book everyone know but no ones read

Mark Twain 

In English we have been forced to read one or two classic books in one month. With this assignment there were three rules: the book had to be a classic, you have to read for thirty minutes every night, and you have to keep a nightly journal. Most kid responded flabbergasted and said something like, In a month, I haven’t read in like, ten years! Some saw it as an opportunity for something new and exciting. I saw it as something that I would dislike, not because I don’t like reading but because I was (or am) reading the Harry Potter book. Harry Potter not being a classic I couldn’t read it. I tried to convince  Mr Fitzsimmons that Harry Potter was a classic but he refused to let me read it. So I “embraced the beast” and decided to The Adventures Of Huckkleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I had enjoyed reading The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer so I figured this would be a good fit. As I started this book I was bored to death until I reached a interesting point of the book (sorry, can’t extend on that for spoiling reasons). The book all the sudden picked up and I was in Huckleberry’s world. But I noticed I was reading very slow and that If i wanted to finish this book I would have to pick up the pace. So I tried the audio version, I started to cruise through the book like it was nothing. Now I am continuing to read my book and keep my journal, the book will hopefully teach me something new about myself. If not there are thousands of books out there that can inspire and change my life. So I will keep reading interesting books as long as I live.