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30 x December 15, 2016 - January 4, 2017 x www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com<br />
AT THE FIRST ACADEMY,<br />
BIG DREAMS START EARLY.<br />
Open House<br />
Join us between 2pm and 4pm<br />
Sunday, November 13<br />
Sunday, January 8<br />
Sunday, February 12<br />
Scan the QR code to<br />
RSVP for Open House<br />
and/or schedule your<br />
personal tour<br />
181 Athletic Championships<br />
Blue Ribbon Lower & Middle Schools<br />
Students who attend TFA are four times more likely to be an AP scholar<br />
A Christ-Centered Birth to Grade 12 College Preparatory School<br />
Definitively Christ-Centered, Distinctly College-Prep<br />
407.206.8602 | thefirstacademy.org<br />
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29<br />
Something I really like about Christmas<br />
is to see what I get for presents. Sometimes<br />
I shake the box and try to guess what’s<br />
inside. My sister and I take turns opening<br />
gifts. It is hard to wait for my sister. She<br />
takes a long time opening each one. I like<br />
to open the big presents first, because the<br />
better presents are usually in the bigger<br />
boxes! I like to see the look on my sister’s<br />
face when she opens the gift from me. I try<br />
to get her something that will make her really<br />
happy. She always gives me the biggest<br />
hug after opening my gift, and, of course,<br />
my parents take pictures.<br />
We have family and friends come over<br />
on Christmas. I like to play games with<br />
them when they arrive. We play board<br />
games, or baseball or football outside.<br />
After we come in, we play games on the<br />
PS4 while my family puts together the gifts<br />
that we opened. One of my favorite games<br />
to play is Call of Duty, which took my parents<br />
forever to finally get for me.<br />
I start to smell the food, and this makes<br />
me hungry. After playing on my game for<br />
a while, I go downstairs to eat with my family.<br />
Some of my favorite things to eat are<br />
my mom’s famous macaroni and cheese,<br />
mashed potatoes and stuffing.<br />
“This is so good!” everyone says. “I want<br />
more!”<br />
We go around the table and say what<br />
we are thankful for. I always say, “family.”<br />
My mom always cries, because she<br />
is so happy, and every year, I tell her not<br />
to. After we are done eating, we go into<br />
the pool and hot tub until it is time for dessert.<br />
My sister makes the best cookies and<br />
brownies.<br />
Those are the reasons I like Christmas —<br />
for family, friends, presents and food. The<br />
next time Christmas comes, it will be even<br />
better!<br />
Honorable Mention<br />
Unbeliever<br />
by Gabrielle Urton<br />
Winter Garden<br />
Snow fell as softly as a feather from the<br />
heavens above. The air was filled with the<br />
sweet smells of gingerbread and peppermint.<br />
The sleepy town was painted with colors<br />
of delight. But of this delight, Charlotte<br />
had none.<br />
No one blamed her for this. After all, her<br />
season was probably anything but pleasant.<br />
Four hours was all the sleep she got.<br />
Eleven hours for school, and then it was off<br />
to work for the remaining nine. An extra<br />
hour or two of sleep was a luxury for her as<br />
she spent her days working and studying.<br />
This left her no time for the holidays, not<br />
that it would matter. Charlotte hadn’t celebrated<br />
Christmas since she was 15. Not<br />
only did she not believe in Christmas, she<br />
didn’t believe in the spirit of Christmas or<br />
the magic it produced. She hated being<br />
with her family and friends. She thought it<br />
was a waste of valuable time. But, all that<br />
changed one Friday night.<br />
It was a busy day, and Charlotte got home<br />
later than usual. As soon as she walked into<br />
her apartment, she was shocked. It was<br />
decorated with candy canes, cotton snow,<br />
a beautiful garland swirling around the railing,<br />
a giant wool stocking was hung neatly<br />
above the hearth, and in the center of the<br />
room stood a 5-foot-tall pine tree. The tree<br />
was exquisitely covered with ribbons, popcorn<br />
strings and gorgeous ornaments bursting<br />
with color. Charlotte determined not to<br />
investigate the mysterious decorations. She<br />
had more homework than usual and would<br />
have to get up extra early.<br />
The next day, she awoke only to find<br />
that breakfast was already prepared, but<br />
not the way she did it. Her breakfast was<br />
usually a simple cup of coffee. Today,<br />
there were freshly cooked omelets filled<br />
with cheese, tomatoes and onions. There<br />
was hot bacon sizzling in the frying pan.<br />
There were pumpkin-flavored pancakes<br />
dipped in maple syrup. And to top it off,<br />
there was hot cocoa covered in whipped<br />
cream and sprinkled with peppermint<br />
candies.<br />
Things were getting out of hand.<br />
Neighbors came over with plates of cookies.<br />
As for school, her teacher called and<br />
said she had the day off. She decided to<br />
go shopping and found herself looking for<br />
Christmas presents for her family.<br />
I don’t have the money to buy presents,<br />
Charlotte thought quietly to herself. Just<br />
then her boss called and gave her a promotion.<br />
It included a raise and Christmas<br />
bonus. These miracles continued for the remainder<br />
of the day.<br />
She came home, still trying to figure out<br />
everything, and that’s when she saw an elegantly<br />
decorated Christmas card on the<br />
mantle. She opened it and read.<br />
Dearest Charlotte,<br />
I know you are confused right now.<br />
Anyone would be, but you are someone<br />
who needs this the most. You are caught up