Will Schonschack
English 11 1st hour Narrative R4 10-11-15 Secret Paradise “Hey Logan, should we go to Knauf Park?” He replies, “Yeah, I’ll meet you there in ten minutes.” I turn into the parking lot and see him standing by his car, a dusty grey Jeep Cherokee, waiting for me. We get to the opening of a long narrow dirt path and see the destination about a mile down. We walk until we get to the no trespassing sign. Most people think keep out when they see this, but we see opportunity. Once we pass the narrow clearing, a hidden paradise awaits us. There are many qualities that make this place special. When I am there I don’t have to worry about a single thing besides the beauty that surrounds me. The first thing I notice after I pass the sign is a murky pond with lots of busy wildlife. I smell the algae from the pond as it hovers over the water and coats everything that comes in contact with it. Teeth clenching, I smell the scent of decaying leaves on the forest floor as they rot away. I see the trees swaying, letting the rays of sunlight beam down and give me warmth. I hear the birds whistle their song as they work. This is our favorite place in the woods, not only because of the beauty, but what stands twenty yards down the trail. In the middle of this paradise sits a teepee; the center of our surroundings. We walk in, throw our backpacks full of gear down, and get back to work. There’s never really any specific task at hand besides making the teepee bigger and stronger in hope that it will survive the winter. Our little paradise down the hill gets a little better every time we go. The fort consists of a solid three sided pyramid held together by many scraps of rope. intertwined in the walls are many dead sticks and vines for camouflage. Inside it sits two stumps and a small fire pit lined with rocks. Underneath the floor of leaves is a secret chest full of necessities such as a hatchet, a hammock, lots of rope, and a pocket knife. I quickly grab the hatchet out of the chest and pick a tall tree, narrow and strait, to chop down and lay on the last open side of the fort. After about twenty solid strikes at the perfect angle, the tree begins to tip and I yell “timber!” I slip my pocket knife out of my back pocket and slice off all of the branches leaving me with a long straight sapling. I drag it over to the teepee and position it in the only place where there is an opening. After all of our hard work, the teepee is complete. “Finally, we are finished.” I say as I lay down the branch. “Now what are we going to do?” He asks as he sits on one of the stumps. “What do you mean? We have this awesome fort in the middle of the woods that no one knows about; we can do whatever we want.” I see him stand up and walk over to his pack. “It’s not done just yet.” He pulls out a yellow bandana and ties the two corners to a stick and jams it into the very top of the teepee. “There, now it is finished.” This brings a big smile to my face because the flag symbolizes all of the hours of hard work that went into making our paradise complete. This is our secret paradise for now. Purpose statement: To show how the fort in Knauf Park is our secret place no one knows about. college comparison essayWill Schonschack
English 11 11-29-15 college comparison essay One thing I have learned from my parents and my teachers is that there is nothing worse than choosing a college that doesn’t fit you. The three colleges I’m considering are Michigan Technological University, Grand Valley State University, and Michigan State University. The three major things I am looking for to find the right school are the campus, expenses, and education. To start off, I researched the school that my sister is going to; Grand Valley State University. It is a medium size school with a total of 24,000 students (Grand Valley State University). I have never done a full campus tour but I have been able to see what the dorms are like and the cafeterias. My family and I have driven around the town in Allendale. Overall, I really like the campus, but it might be a little too big for what I want. Cost, that’s one of those things that can be the deciding factor for many people regardless of how much they like the school. Grand Valley has a tuition of around $10,500 which is well within my budget for a school that has so much to offer. Overall Grand Valley would be a good school for me but because I already know what I want to do, it is a little too general of a school for me. Next on the list of schools I researched is Michigan State University. There is one problem with going to this school… I am a die hard Michigan fan. I would definitely be willing to make an exception if I thought it was the right school for me. According to Michigan State University, The tuition comes to a grand total of $12,900. I would be more than willing to pay this amount because I know that Michigan State’s campus is very big, and super nice. It is in East Lansing which is a fairly large town which might be somewhat of an issue to me, but it is still a major consideration. At Michigan State there is a total of 49,300 students. I can’t even wrap my head around how many people that is. It’s kind of overwhelming to think about how many people that is. Honestly, I am not super interested in this school due to the size of the town and the amount of students enrolled. Last but certainly not least, I researched Michigan Technological University. As soon as people hear “Michigan Tech”, the first thing they think about is engineering. Michigan tech has an excellent engineering program expanding from mechanical all the way to chemical. It makes me happy to think that I could be going to college with a bunch of people that like the same things I do. Just a few weeks ago I went with my family up there to visit and do a college tour. The town of Houghton reminds me a lot of St. Joseph because it is right on the water. The campus is right down the road from downtown Houghton which is super convenient. It is a smaller school with only about 6,900 students. I feel like going to a smaller school with smaller classes would benefit me more because there would be more of a connection between the students and teachers rather than having a class of 600 where the professor gives a lecture and walks out. Michigan Tech tops Michigan state just by about $500which isn’t a lot considering college sets you up for the rest of your life. I feel that Michigan Tech is by far my favorite school out of the three. After doing research on these schools, my top choice has stayed the same. Michigan Technological University blows away the other schools with the small campus, and great engineering program. As soon as we got the the campus and saw the town and people, my parents just looked at me and said, “Will, this looks like the perfect school for you.” Being so far up north, they get a lot of snow. I will be spending a lot of my free time taking advantage of the ski hill right across the street from campus. Another thing that I like about the location of the school is that there is a lot of forests so has a lot of places to go camping. I have found my dream school. I don’t think there is any other school in the U.S. that could top Michigan Tech. Everything about it is just what I want. I hope that everyone can find a school that they like as much as I like Michigan Tech. Bibliography “Michigan Technological University, Welcome To Career Cruising 2.0.” Career Cruising. Web. 4 Dec. 2015. <https://www2.careercruising.com/schools-us-undergraduate/school-profile-index/7451> “Michigan State University, Welcome To Career Cruising 2.0.” Career Cruising. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.<https://www2.careercruising.com/schools-us-undergraduate/school-profile-index/7450> “Grand Valley State, Welcome To Career Cruising 2.0.” Career Cruising. Web. 4 Dec. 2015. <https://www2.careercruising.com/schools-us-undergraduate/school-profile-index/6501> Kenning/Metaphor Poem
Will Schonschack
!st hour english Kenning/Metaphor Poem 11-16-15 https://www.google.com/search?q=UPS+sleigh&safe=strict&biw=1440&bih=720&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7zLeMpsHJAhVGjIMKHTgzCrkQ_AUIBigB#safe=strict&tbm=isch&q=UPS+christmas&imgrc=dZ-gEjiLQNus3M%3A “The UPS Guy” The big man in brown Checks his scanner twice The conveyors and robots fill the truck The hero of christmas bearing gifts With the all too familiar wink Two toots on the horn Saint UPS dashes for the door Striking the knocker, leaves the package on the floor That boring brown box brings smiles to faces With three cheers for logistics Christmas is saved By the man driving the big brown truck Place Sketch Will Schonschack
English 11 1st hour Place Sketch 10-7-15 The Forest As I get to the long narrow path and see the destination about a mile down. I ride my bike down the dirt and sand covered rut until I get to the sign that says keep out. The sign is ignored because I’m so curious I can’t resist. I finally walk down to the teepee and just take it all in. There are many paths and many good spots for forts but none comparable to the place I have built mine. My fort is at the end of a dead end path no one takes so it is never disturbed. Also, it is next to a murky pond with lots of busy wildlife. I smell the algae from the pond as it hovers over the water and coats everything that comes in contact with the water. I smell the scent of decaying leaves on the forest floor as they rot away. I see the trees swaying, letting the rays of sunlight beam down and give me warmth. I hear the birds whistle their song as they work. When I sit on the stump in my teepee I think a lot about the world and how our lives have gotten so busy and there is never any time to be alone. Once I’m in the woods, the only thing not keeping me completely secluded is the squirrels rustling the branches as they play tag. I get lost in that forest, not physically, but mentally. When I step beyond the line of trees, a whole new world opens before my eyes. My fort is small but big enough. there is just enough room to have a fire in the middle of the teepee. To get to the teepee, I go down the vineland woods path until I get to the path with the sign reading: keep out, no trespassing. I turn into that path and follow it down another path until I’m at the bottom of the hill where the pond is. My fort is right next to the pond, just where I like it. Up the hill is a large meadow, distancing me even further away from the backyards of houses in the nearby subdivision. The thing I like the most about this place is that it is so secluded. It makes me happy knowing that I can come back and see it the same way it was when I left. Also, when I am out there a few minutes seem like hours just because of how much I am able to slow down and think. The forest surrounds me leaving me worry free about everything. I hope that everyone has a special spot like mine because everyone deserves a place they can go to get away from everything. It’s super easy to get all caught up in social media and the internet. When we are around this twenty-four hours a day, we are never really able to relax because there is always something new to keep up with and it causes a lot of stress in our lives. If I don’t go out to my peaceful place at least once a week for a couple hours I get stressed out. This place has impacted my life because it has kept my sanity. When I am there all I think about is the beauty that surrounds me. I don’t see a mile long path that is a service road for telephone wires, but nothing less than a jungle that stretches from ocean to ocean with new discoveries to be made every expedition. Purpose Statement: The purpose of this sketch is to show how curiosity drives my passion for nature. |