Hello, my name is John Simons. I am an 8th grader and I attend, well, this school, J. Frank Dobie Junior High! So far, things have been fine. Now that I think about it, fine would be an understatement. In reality, things have been great. School’s been really easy, and the work hasn’t given me any trouble. The only way I would fail anything is if I simply just DIDN’T try.                                                                                                                                                                               School might be fine, but my summer was a COMPLETELY different story. In all honesty, my summer was as boring as it gets. In fact it was so boring, that it was worse than watching paint dry. Okay, you know what, I think may or may not have over-exaggerated, but it was boring. Video games got boring after about a week, and having to deal with my siblings was my next option. Goodness….                                                                                                                       Even after two weeks of paint-dry level boringness, my summer didn’t improve itself. So naturally, I just did my second favorite thing. Folding origami! It didn’t last a while, but folding paper is one of the best things in the world to do (in my opinion). So, after another day or two afterward. I got bored. Now some people might be asking, why do I get bored so easily? Well, I was in fact missing something. Something that was very, very important….                               That thing just happened to be music. So about a week later, I found a youtube video of some guy playing          some REALLY cool song on the piano and I thought to myself, “Wait! I already know how to play the piano, I just need the sheet music!” So, shortly afterward, I was at work. By the way, the song is called “Sealed Vessel” and it’s by Christopher Larkin. If you want to listen to the piano version, just look up (on YouTube) “Sealed Vessel by Stoh Shiba” (he arranged the music). Otherwise, just look the song up and you should find the original orchestra piece.           So now, two months later, I’m still at work on that song. Presently, I can (flawlessly) Play 90% of it. And, this time, I’m not exaggerating. So, if you really want to listen to me play it, send me a request, and I’ll email you a recording. So yes, my summer WAS a completely different story. It was boring at first, but it changed. It just shows that with a little bit of effort, you can turn any situation into a good one.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Certified 8th Grader, John Simons