Never Late, Always Five Minutes Early. Ali Holladay Mrs. McGee AP English 12.

Never Late, Always Five Minutes Early.

Ali Holladay

Mrs. McGee

AP English 12

My name is Ali Holladay and I am a senior at Kellam High School. I was born in San Diego and then moved to Virginia Beach. I’ve lived at the beach my whole life and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Cheerleading has been a big part of my life since I was five years old. Next year I will be attending James Madison University. I have a lot of dreams but for now I’m just taking it one day at a time.

Table of Contents

Letter to the ReaderMy life listEvery Fifteen MinutesPlastic SurgeryMy NamePlasticSoul PictureThanksgivingScrapping The SkyFriend and Family Click to return to Table of Contents

Dear Reader,Though English has never been my strongest subject, I have come to realize its importance. All the struggling I have had as a writer discouraged me when I was younger. I have now accepted that I have a lot more to learn and to discover about writing. Learning how to write sentences in Elementary School was the beginning of the many essays I would have to write in the years to come. I have always been in advanced English classes but I always had my struggles. Since I was in Kindergarten, spelling has always been my down fall. Continuing my English career, I slowly was able to grow as a speller and as a writer. The past two years in AP English have made me feel more confident about my writing and has allowed me to step out of the box with my creativity. While in college, I hope to continue excelling in my writing and to become a better writer than what I am today

Before I Run Out of Time…

Every Fifteen MinutesTerror. Fear. Astonishment. MY classmates’ eyes told it all. My Sociology class had never been so quiet; we all knew who

was pounding at the door. The handle turned and the door creaked as it slowly opened. A hooded figure walked through the archway of the door to the front of the class and stopped right in front of my desk. I knew exactly what was going on but my heart was racing at the speed of light and it suddenly became hard to swallow.

“Alison Holladay, I need you.” All eyes were on me as I stood up silently and walked out the door, closing it behind me.Toward the beginning of February, word had gone around Kellam that we would be participating in the Every Fifteen

Minutes Program. I had read one of the posters on the wall and I was instantly hooked. The little information that was presented made me want to get involved because I feel so strongly about the issues. I immediately went to Ms. Deliz to tell her I would help in any way that she needed me to. She smiled and said she would let me know. Little did I know I was going to be one of twenty students who were one hundred percent hands on involved in the program.

After being pulled out of class I went to the drama room to get my face flushed out and to get my nametag that showed I was now one of the “living dead.” For the rest of my school day, I was no longer able to talk to anyone or participate in any class assignments. For the purpose of the program, I was dead.

We were leaving second block when a 911 call went over the loud speaker. We went to the back parking lot to see a mock car crash scene. It was a jaw-dropper to see two of my good friends placed in the accident, one of them laying on the ground pretending to be dead and the other laying limp inside one of the smashed vehicles. The students sat outside in the heat as we watched our classmates get taken off in an ambulance, carried off in a Hurst and see the drunken driving procedures. We all knew the exposition was fake but there was no stopping my stomach from doing flips as I sat and stared. After everything was completed, the rest of the school went back inside and continued a normal day at Kellam. For the twenty living dead, a new learning experience had begun.

I got on the bus that was taking me to the hospital to see what was going to happen to our crash victims. Once we arrived we were taken through the hospital to a room with a single bed. The slightly injured person just got checked out and the doctor cleared him. His part was over and he was able to join the rest of us and watch. Next up was Megan, one girl that I can honestly say I look up to more than anyone; she’s like my big sister. Megan was someone I saw every day and someone that I went to with all my problems. To even think about really losing her made my eyes water. They rushed her into the room where everyone had collected. Once I saw her, blood all over the place, major cuts to her scalp and face, her neck in a brace, looking lifeless, I felt like I had actually lost her forever. Words cannot express the way I felt when the scene was over and she sat up. The rest of the students started to file out of the room and I stayed back as they tried to clean Megan up. Once she say up, I just held her and cried.

We met back up with everyone in a place that no one would ever want to find a loved one in. We were in the morgue. My heart was pounding when I walked in and saw a body laying on the table with a white sheet over it. It made me tremble to know that my other good friend, Jack, was underneath the covering. After Jack’s parents identified him, he was able to join the rest of us. One of the officers then stood up and talked to us. I have never had someone talk to me like this man did. I couldn’t move or breathe. I had goose bumps and tears were flowing down my face. I’ll never forget what he said, over and over again.

“The say you come into this room is the say you kill your parents.”It was a real slap in the face. Everyone in the room started crying. We all grabbed the shoulders or the hands of

whomever was standing next to us to comfort each other. It didn’t matter if you had just met, or had been friends for years. This man’s speech was about making stupid mistakes that could cost us our lives, and kill our parents inside; how just one action can change hundreds of people’s lives forever.

Right then in those very moments, I felt like I had grown up. This experience opened up my eyes. I always found drinking and driving a serious issue. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve taken loved one’s keys from them, to keep them from making a mistake. This program allowed me to experience a small amount of how it would feel to lose someone so dear to my heart. I’m no longer that kid who thinks it could never happen to them or anyone I knew. This could happen to anyone. I will never be able to fully feel what it’s like until, heaven forbid, I lose someone.

Plastic SurgeryWrinkled eyes, saggy stomachs, and misshapen breasts are something that people don’t have to live with any more. In 2007, 11.7

million people in the United States went “under the knife” in order to surgically alter some aspect of their appearance. The word “plastic” in plastic surgery comes from the Greek word plastikos which means to form or mold, also giving the material plastic its name as well (“Plastic”). Plastic surgery has become just as popular with men as it is for women “(Cosmetic Plastic)”. Dating back thousands of years, plastic surgery has evolved into a procedure not only for necessary corrections of the body but for personal improvements; however, numerous risks still exist as they did years ago.

Plastic surgery can be dated back 4,000 years (“What”) when it was first practiced in India (“A Board”). Although the newly discovered form of surgery didn’t advance quickly, it was still able to slowly make its way to England, Rome, and Egypt. British physician, Joseph Constantine Carpue, studied 20 years in India and learned and experimented with plastic surgery. After many years of hard work and dedication, he performed the first major plastic surgery in the Western world in 1815 (“Wikipedia”). Twelve years later in America, another break through surgery was performed. Dr. John Peter Mettaue did the first cleft palate operation in North American history with instruments he designed himself (“A Board”). A lot of credit for the advancement and improvement of plastic surgery can also be given to the doctors in World War I. Facial wounds and burns obtained in war influenced plastic surgery innovation. The modern weapons created such harsh injuries that doctors devoted themselves to develop techniques to treat the men that were wounded while fighting. In 1931, the American Society of Plastic and Reconstruction Surgeons (ASPRS) was created. This organization helped further the improvement and advancements made in the field of plastic surgery. The elective surgeries we know today began to take place in the 1960s (“A Board”). The ways of plastic surgery will continue to blossom and more techniques will continue to evolve throughout the years.

All surgeries performed are voluntary and most patients believe that their quality of life will be enhanced or improved as a result of plastic surgery. These surgeries can help people feel better about themselves physically and emotionally (“A Board”). Cosmetic surgery is one of two common plastic surgery procedures. Cosmetic surgery is usually performed to correct a physical abnormality or to enhance an otherwise normal physical feature (“Cosmetic Surgery”). This type of surgery may personally affect individuals but may not be noticed as a flaw by others. The procedures can take place in private hospitals as well as clinics. It is very unlikely that the cost of the surgery will be covered by private medical insurance. The most common types of cosmetic surgery includes liposuction, abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), breast lift, and breast enhancement or augmentation. The less invasive surgeries include facial liposuction, facial implants, and micro fat grafting (“A Board”).

The use of surgery to restore the form and function of the body is reconstructive surgery. To receive this procedure, one must have been in an accident or born with a major abnormality. Reconstructive surgery can range anywhere from skin graphs and tissue expansion to the reattachment of limbs or teeth. This procedure is also voluntary but is most commonly used to correct something caused by an accident (“Wikipidia”). The most common types of reconstructive surgeries include breast reconstruction, surgeries for hands and feet, wound care, microsurgery or flap procedures, and facial surgeries.

As with any surgery, undergoing plastic surgery brings along health risks and dangers. Major advances have been made since 2000BC and the risks of the procedures have decreased tremendously. The instruments and tools used are a lot cleaner and perform the function better. Today, new techniques are alleviating the need for general anesthesia and eliminating dangers; complications are now very rare. Although the new advancements have made plastic surgeries less complicated and dangerous, there are still risks involved. The dangers associated with the surgeries are unique to the type of procedure and the area in which the surgery is being performed. There are complications that can be prevented only by the patient and where the doctors have no control over. The health of the patient is a factor in recovery as well as during the surgery. People are more susceptible to the dangers of plastic surgery with preexisting health issues; these issues include being a smoker, being diabetic, having heart conditions, and having allergies. These people are at a higher risk to experience complications. Risks and dangers that are directly related to the surgery itself can range anywhere from scarring to death. Bleeding, infection, and blood clots are the most common type of dangers. Although the risk of complications is there, simply monitoring the patient carefully during and after the surgery can prevent them or detect them early enough to be treated. Nerve damage is another big danger that comes from plastic surgery. After the surgery is complete, patients can experience problems moving muscles in the area of the surgery. Loss of feeling, although mostly temporary, is a common side affect (“A board”). The many health and physical damages can be a discomfort, but there can also be emotional problems that can be just as damaging. If the surgery goes wrong or doesn’t end up the way the patient wanted it to, the physical change is there to stay unless another procedure is performed to correct it. Effects of surgery can be physically and mentally traumatizing to patients (“A board”).

For years people have been born with physical defects and flaws that are mentally and sometimes physically harmful to live with. The advancements in plastic surgeries have allowed individuals to be more comfortable with the way that they look. Though the risks are still there, many people resort to plastic surgery to correct their physical attributes.

Note the obvious tone and style of writing in the chapter you just read. Now, in exactly fifteen minutes, write about your name and yourself in the space below.

Be creative. Be interesting. Be you. You would think a simple name like Ali would be okay. It's

two syllables and three letters. My parents shortened Alison to Ali to make it more simple, just Ali.

No, not simple. I don’t think I’ve come across anyone who has spelled my name correct the first time I explain it. A-L-I, three simple letters, there are no Y’s, an E, or more than one L. It’s simple.

Kids have trouble saying it too. Ow-ee I’m most often called. No, I am not associated with pain or a wound. It is also not like Muhammad Ali; I do not hop around and punch people for fun.

Megan won’t work and I don’t look like a Brittany. Ali will have to do.

PlasticGlamorous and perfect, you can tell they have it all.Boys stop and stare when they walk down the hall.

The leader is vicious and the owner of the burn book.She copied all the pages so everyone had a look.

The red head is from African, she’s the new girl in town.She thought she made friends, but they only brought her down.

Ones hair is full of secrets, that’s how she knows everything.They make fun of everyone, they’ll point and start laughing.

They always wear their lip gloss, and never use chap sticks.They wear pink on Wednesdays, they are The Plastics.

My Soul