You and Me | Jessica Flory

You, the little princess, a precious jewel too,

if you could jump into the future, would you?

If you said yes, this is what you'd see:

an older you of course. That would be me.

Tell me, do you like what you see?

Are you content knowing you'll grow into me?

Am I your hero? Do you look at me

like someone that you'd want to grow up to be?

Or are you disappointed with the “you” you'll become?

Am I too serious? Do I act dumb?

Did I mess up somewhere? Do I walk in the light?

Would you still love me if we met tonight?

From what I remember, I like what you do.

I loved my childhood; me, young, is you.

So tell me once more, do you like what you see?

If not, please say so! You will grow to be me!

Lukeman Excercise Part Three | Jessica Flory

Coming around the block—passing our arena—we decided that we would ride halfway to our neighbor's house and then come back. It was there that we decided to try a small canter to end the ride with some excitement. I was confident that I could handle Ug with just a rope and halter and that I would be able to keep, at least, my toes in the stirrups. But as we started cantering, I realized how wrong I was. As Ug pulled right beside our neighbor's horse, I remembered the fact that our neighbor was also on his old racehorse. And they were picking up speed.

I realized that by adding the dashes in the first sentence, it makes more sense as to where we were. I need to be less constraining when I write, and just let the words spill onto the paper sometimes.

The Hill | Jessica Flory

Running to the hill was sometimes the worst part. The agony that you knew you would eventually feel was the one thing that kept you from going. The pain in your legs that you felt now as you ran up the slight incline was nothing compared to what it would be like once you hit the top of the hill.
But you had to go. You just had to run two hills and it would be over. Unfortunately, the only thing that would be over was the running; the screaming pain in your legs and your lungs would stay for some time after. Perhaps even after you had walked back to the track would your body still scream at you for rest and an escape from the misery to which it was bound.
Waiting at the bottom for Coach to give the signal to start had to be the most unnerving part of running the hill. The girls would wave back at him, crouch down... and then the three words that give all runners chills would be uttered: "Ready, set, go."
Once you started, everything became a bit better. There was no pain in the beginning and the worst was behind you. Or so you thought. As soon as you hit the middle of the hill, it began to incline a bit and that pain in your legs started to creep from your calves all the way to your rear end.
You could give yourself encouragement, and think that you were almost there. But Coach, who was standing at the top, never got close enough as fast as you wanted him to. The only thing you could do was to continue to pump your arms and drive your knees forward, and hope that the end was near.
Once you made it to the top, your lungs screamed for air and your legs were aching to be stretched. You wanted to walk around, to loosen up, but your legs were shaking and didn't seem to be able to support you. You wanted to sit down, but knew that you'd tighten up and stop breathing.
You walked limply down the hill and back to the starting line. Six minutes of rest just didn't seem to be enough time. You waved at Coach for the second time, who waved back, and you are on your way up again. The second time was always worse than the first and by the time you hit the middle of the hill, your body refused to go further. Mind over matter, you think, and you continued to pump your arms, pushing through the invisible force that held you back. Your arms and your legs were aching and just couldn't seem to push anymore. Your lungs were burning and you had a desperate need to cough something up. But the finish line was in plain sight! All you had to do was take a few more steps...
At last! You crossed the spray painted line drawn on the asphalt. You wanted to collapse and leave your painful existence for only a moment, but your rear end was tightening and yearned for the relief of walking and stretching. Walking around in stupid circles wasn't doing anything for your hamstrings or your behind, but you knew that if you sat down, air would cease to exist in your world.
When your lungs finally received their reward of air, the muscles in your bottom pulled you to the ground and forced you to stretch them. You started to relax, but only a little. Your head was still spinning and you were still fighting to keep whatever it is you ate last down.
As you left the hill, a sense of accomplishment surpassed the pain and sickness that you felt. You actually felt as though you had done something that day. You liked the feeling.
It is a good thing that you would be feeling it every single week for the next eight months.

Lukeman Excercise Part Two | Jessica Flory

Cynthia knew that when Danny squeezed her hand, it would be for the last time. She didn't know how she knew and the thought frightened her very much. Danny and Cynthia had been dating for over a year and the thought of letting Danny go scared Cynthia more than she ever thought possible.

Maybe Sarah is right, Cynthia thought. Danny is my comfort zone and our relationship has formed a bubble around me and has forced me to stop meeting other people. Sarah has noticed how shy and insecure I've become. Yes, maybe Sarah and Cael are right.

“We've noticed that away from home,”Cynthia recalled Sarah saying, “you can only come out of your bubble around Cael and me, and two of your roommates.” Sarah also went on to state, “You don't know how bad we want you to just let Danny go.”

Sarah and Cael. Yet another thought that frightened her. Cynthia's brother, Cael, had come to Southern Utah University with her this year and had met her friend, Sarah; and just like that, the two had become inseparable in just a matter of weeks. Cynthia had brought Sarah home during a holiday the previous year and that had seemed to be the beginning of Sarah's and Cael's “relationship”. Although the two weren't dating--Cael was far too shy to begin something like that-- one could tell that they had fun around each other and seemed to be the best of friends.

Cynthia sighed rather inaudibly and lay her head against the seat, still staring out the window. Why did one have to be torn between homes when one got older? Thoughts of roommates, thoughts of the soccer team, and thoughts of friends in Cedar City, Utah pulled Cynthia to SUU. But no matter how hard the thoughts tugged at her, Danny was always in her mind pulling her back home. Home to her family, her friends, and her memories of childhood in San Diego, California.

This piece of work went from having no dialog to the dialog I have added in. I think it is a bit better having dialog in this type of work because it draws the reader in and gives them a break from the author merely describing things. It also lets the reader experience first hand what's happening.

Lukeman Exercise Part One | Jessica Flory

I followed with my eyes the path in which Nathan's neck was stuck. Yes, I could lift him up and over. If I were two or three feet taller.

It was at that moment that the bale of hay appeared beside me. I don't know if it was there before or not, but I sure hadn't noticed it in the past. Careful to keep the pressure from Nathan's neck, I stepped onto the bale. It was just the added amount of height I needed, and I was able to lift my little brother up and over the bars of the machine.

I realized that the long sentences I had in this section of my story were rather hard to grasp and understand. They weren't terrible (I didn't think), but by making sentences shorter, it seems to flow a bit better, and make things seem more tense.