Washington D.C.

Author's Note: My project on Washington D.C. was not a success, but it wasn't a complete loss. I did get some experience out of it. I'm writing this piece as a narrative for my Washington D.C. project. In this piece, I am working on voice more than anything else.  Please leave me some feedback.

JrNYLC at Lincoln Memorial

Since the spring of 2010 I've been dreaming of getting another chance to go to Washington D.C.  In sixth grade, I received my first.  It was a day similar to any other -- I got up, went to school, came home, got the mail, and so on.  In the mail that day there was a formal-looking envelope addressed To the Parents of Mai Vo, so I waited for my parents to open it with me.  Inside there were different letters and information for my parents and I about the Junior National Young Leaders Conference (JrNYLC).  The letter stated that my teacher nominated me to represent Wisconsin in a week-long leadership conference in Washington D.C.  In addition, I would have visited all the tourist attractions, heard various speakers, met tons of people, and experience a leadership trip of a lifetime.

White House

Unfortunately I wasn't able to go.  It was a mix between time, scheduling, and money -- and being on my own -- that interfered with the trip.  I still have the letter as a keepsake and I enjoy reading it to think of the phenomenal opportunity.  Though I didn’t go, I still got something out of that opportunity.  I got inspiration -- inspiration to relive the leadership trip.  I wanted to study all of the places that I would have visited such as the Lincoln Memorial and the White House.  As I shared my plan with Mr. Johnson he asked me, "Have you thought of planning a trip to Washington D.C. this year?"  I hadn't considered that at all, when I meant "relive" I didn't think I would actually get to go.  In fact I was thinking about a little project to discover more in Washington D.C., but I loved the idea of traveling there.  That turned out to be my second chance.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Right away I began researching and looking into hotels, dates and times, and transportation fare to visit all of the attractions.  I spent lots of time on my computer a lot and rereading my JrNYLC letters and schedule to plan a similar experience.  I wanted to visit all of the places that I would have visited back in 2010. Mr. Johnson assisted me to choose some additional places to go and places to cut from my list.  I ended with a list of thirteen destinations: the American History Museum, Arlington Cemetery, Capitol Hill, Ford Theater, Holocaust Museum, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Memorial, Maryland Science Center, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Spy Museum, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the White House.  I couldn't wait to leave for Washington D.C. because this time would be better than the first.

Map

A couple weeks after I started my project it began to tumble down.  I worked hard and put nearly all my time in this project for a little while, but my parents booked our spring vacation during the same time that I was scheduling to go to Washington D.C.  Sure I was upset, but I somewhat saw an interference coming.  I had gotten too excited so go to Washington D.C. that I forgot about everything that could get in the way with arranging a large class trip.

Washington D.C.

In the end, I can't go to Washington D.C. -- again -- but I learned a more about the places that I want to visit and how complicated it is to schedule a comprehensive class trip.  Someday I hope can go to Washington D.C. and have the experience that I’ve been waiting for.  Until then I'll keep on dreaming and trying to make my wish come true.

Darkness

Author's Note: We just started the second book of Life of Pi and he is now in the middle of the ocean just watching days go by.  I thought about that and to me it made a good idea for a poem.  This poem is in the tragedy mode.  I wrote this in an open format and in the point of perspective of Pi.  Please leave some feedback.

I sit here cold and lonely
in darkness.
With nothing before me but
death and blood --
a horrifying stench of blood.
I look away.

I sit here...
and wonder what might be
lurking beneath me.
Waves silent and still,
I'm waiting for them to start to churn
and see what will come out --
and take me.

So wait and wait...
In hope that I'll be found.
Staring out into nothing.
Not even a star in the sky --
Only clouds and darkness.

The Porch

Author's Note: This is another poem that I am working on with Mr. Johnson.  We chose to imitate The Pasture by Robert Frost.  We changed the mode to comedy but we stuck with the same structure.  Please leave me some feedback.

The Pasture by Robert Frost

I'm going out to clean the pasture spring;
I'll only stop to rake the leaves away
(And wait to watch the water clear, I may):
I shan't be gone long.—You come too.

I'm going out to fetch the little calf;
That's standing by the mother. It's so young,
It totters when she licks it with her tongue.
I shan't be gone long.—You come too.

The Porch by Mai Vo

I'm going out to sit on the swing;
I will peacefully sway from here to there
(And looking at the world for which I care):
I watch the sun rise. -- You come too.

I'm going out to take a nice stroll;
I will feel the wind and sun on my face,
Such a wonderful feeling to embrace.
I watch the sun rise. -- You come too.

Snow

Author's Note: I have been waiting forever for snow.  Today the snow finally stayed on the ground and kept on falling down.  I'm so excited and I felt like doing a open poem on it. I was working on word choice in the poem.  Please leave me feedback!

Peacefully
Falling, swaying, flying
Blissfully flowing in the breeze,
Sitting neatly on branches or rooftops,
Creating fluffy, white blankets on the ground,
Light and gentle, flowing down.

I Can Accomplish Anything I Try

Author's Note: Mr. Johnson and I are beginning to work on a different way of poetry together.  For our first one, we are doing a parallel poem to When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer by Walt Whitman.  I made a couple of attempts to write this poem.  I also learned that I tend to rush when working and my following try will always be better than my first.  

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer by Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the
lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

I Can Accomplish Anything I Try by Mai Vo

Before I bothered to try,
Before the lessons, and accidents just waiting to happen,
Before I tolerated the snow, the cold, and the fears of going down,
Before I listened to everyone where they spoke about the thrill and the adventures on the
rugged slopes,
How soon, unbelievable, I felt victory and excitement,
Again, rising and beginning at the summit,
Then looking down and imagining what I can accomplish,
Letting go, and gliding to the base.