(click on photo to read short story) 

 

Noah

A.

 

Noah Aitel was born in Berkeley, CA, and has lived there his entire life.  His passions include reading, writing, and martial arts.  He is currently a senior at Berkeley High School, with plans to attend UC Santa Cruz in the fall.  Although unsure of what he wishes to do in the future, he hopes to be able to continue writing fiction in his spare time.  The author would like to thank everyone who helped him with his story, all your feedback made the story what it is.  Anyone wishing to send him praise, job offers, or money should contact him at wassname@gmail.com.  He appreciates any feedback on his work, and appreciates unearned money even more.

 

Spencer

A.

 

 The authoress is a cool person. She was born in Berkeley, but Oakland is her city, and loves the sciences. She’s easily distracted and sometimes feels the urge to doodle and write stories about characters she has created. She loves her dog, Mac, a German short hair pointer --he is awesome and deserves praise. She also likes a bunch of different stuff, talking about stuff, Fiji water, lists, vanilla mochi, peppermints, oranges, game shows, crossword puzzles, video games, the outdoors, her pins, and her family. In the future she hopes to go into science, learn an insane amount of foreign languages, establish the fifty-first state of North Virginia, and live her life to the fullest.

 

Astrid

A.

 

Astrid Anderson was born in San Francisco in 1990. She loves to write music more than anything in the world, but writing stories is her second favorite. She plans to go to New York City for college and study Literature in school and progress her music career outside of school.

 

Zahra

A.

 

    

Zahra Axinn was born in London, England but moved to Berkeley soon after. She loves to swim, to make pottery, to read and to sing. Over the course of her life, she has read lots and lots of books, many of which serve as inspiration for her writing.

 

Stephanie

B.

 

Stephanie was born in San Francisco but raised in Oakland. She has attended Berkeley schools all her life and she's ready to get out of the Bay Area. Being the shyest among all her friends, she enjoys singing, dancing, and acting. Next fall she plans to attend a Cal State somewhere in L.A. with her favorite cousin Alexis. She is striving to become a pediatrician, fashion designer, and/or aspiring actress.

 

Rashida

B.

 

   Rashida Birdlong --born October 29, 1990 --grew up in Berkeley, CA along with her younger sister Raenah. She enjoys traveling and especially loves photography and design. Rashida plans to attend design school in the fall of 2008, and is hopeful of a successful career as a Fashion Designer.

 
 

Zach

B.

 

   
 

Tavio

C.

 

    
 

Grace

C.

 

   Gracie Coates was born in Berkeley, CA and learned how to walk at seven and a half months. When she was in preschool she was too small to use the toilet on her own because she would otherwise fall into the bowl. Now she writes the occasional short story in her Short Story class at Berkeley High.

 

Victoya

C.

 

     

 
 

Gabe

D.

 

    

Chloe

D.

    

Chloe De Lancie lives in Berkeley with her dad, and Walnut Creek with her mom. She has two siblings: an older sister named Olivia and a younger brother named Dylan. She attended the East Bay French-American School in Berkeley for nine years, then went on to continue her education at International High School in San Francisco. She transferred to Berkeley High at the beginning of her sophomore year. In her spare time she enjoys playing soccer and reading. Some of her favorite authors include Khaled Hosseini, Dan Brown, and Jodi Piccoult.

 

Nora

D.

 

   

 

Chris

H.

 

    
 

Dora

H.

 

Dora Harper, born in Oakland Ca. On November 17, 1989, is a senior currently attending school at Berkeley High. After graduation Dora plans to attend her dream college: Franklin College Switzerland. However, if she somehow does not get accepted, she will attend college somewhere in New England. Dora has traveled to many US states as well as countries overseas (Ghana, Mali, Togo, Amsterdam). Traveling is one of Dora's favorite hobbies, as well as reading. Throughout her childhood Dora guardian was convinced that television was evil, so, to entertain herself, Dora read books. Dora's favorite authors are Octavia Butler and Orson Scott Card. Dora enjoys all different kinds of genres, however, her favorite genre is Science Fiction.
 

Katie

H.

 

Katie Henry is a member of the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Comma Abuse),
and in her free time, enjoys psychoanalyzing literary characters and learning
utterly useless languages. If you needed to find Katie at 8 on a Thursday night,
you could invariably find her in front of a school computer, trying to remember
whether “with” is capitalized in newspaper headlines. She is of the opinion that  Joe Hardy was the hottest child detective, followed closely by Encyclopedia Brown.
 

Nick

H.

 

     My name is Nick Hoeper-Tomich. I was born in Berkeley and have lived here all my life. I am an avid cyclist and snowboard frequently during the winter. I have raced mountain bikes for the last four years. My racing experience has given me focus which helps on and off the race course. My writing influence is the world around me. There is so much to see and do that it really inspires me. I plan to attend UC Santa Cruz next year and continue racing bikes in college.
 

Naomi

J.

 

    

 

Nadav

K.

 

My main interest in life is soccer. I eat, sleep and breathe soccer. However, I do have other interests as well. One of my favorite things to do if I am not playing soccer is poker. I love to play poker because of the mixture of skill and luck involved. The great thing about poker is that you can be the worst player and win, and the best player and lose. Another reason why I love poker is that you need to be able to read people. Reading people is a great skill, and you practice it while playing poker. However, the main reason I love poker is that you can win a lot of money. 

    

 

Scott

K.

 

  Hi there, I'm Scott Kellert.  I am looking for a single female reader for my memoir.  I like a smart reader with a sense of humor, and must love dogs.  I enjoy a good pina colada, and long walks in the rain.  My favorite books are intense action thrillers.  I especially like to curl up with a good Michael Crichton novel on the weekends.  I am born an raised in Berkeley California, but plan on attending college somewhere on the east coast.  I am especially interested in the wonderful world of mathematics.  If you're interested click my link.

 

 

Dylan

K.

 

Dylan is not an inspiring writer, but he realizes that this will severly hinder his quest to become one with the great Rayshawn, an accomplished 21st century writer who explores the subtle differences between ambience and decor. Rayshawn is also known to go stupid in Madden. Dylan also aspires to live up to the initials he shares with
the famed banana poacher, Donkey Kong.

 

Nico

K.

 

 I write because I love writing, it's that simple.

 

Ethan

K.

 

 

 

Courtney

K.

 

 

 

Naomi

K.

 

Naomi enjoys notebooks and chocolate and airplane
tickets to foreign countries. She does not enjoy
tomatoes or the feeling when cold air is coming in one
tiny spot in her jacket.

 

Will K.

 

Will K was born in Berkeley, CA and is graduating in Berkeley High School?s class of 2008. After the wonderful years of high school, Will will be attending college in either Boston, Oregon, or Vermont. He hopes to pursue a career in sports journalism, and is currently the esteemed school newspaper?s sports editor. He enjoys skiing, hiking, and other various outdoor activities. Will enjoys listening to all types of music and has played the clarinet since he was in the fourth grade.  Look for great things to come in the very anticipated life of William Louis K.

 

Alina

L.

 

If you're in the mood for a strange crime story, go no further-- you have found it. Alina is a little confused, herself, with how her story turned out, but it did. If forced to classify it into a genre of Crime Fiction, she would call it a SciFi-Mystery. It was meant to be a Thriller, but oh well. Enjoy!

 

David

L.

 

David is a seventeen year old senior who doesn't really like for his
writing to be read, though that shouldn't stop you from reading this
if you want to.  Just don't randomly come up to him and tell him that
you read his story.  He'll be confused by that for a long time...
In his spare time, he likes to climb things:  Trees, buildings,
ladders... It doesn't really matter.  Just as long as he can climb.
He also enjoys going on treasure hunts with pirates and climbing
glaciers.Someday, after getting a degree in electrical engineering and computer
science, he hopes to move to Boston, mutate his DNA so that he sprouts
wings, and learn how to fly.  He thinks that that could be pretty fun.
 

Mariel

L.

 

 Mariel Lippe was born and raised in Berkeley, California where she
lives separately with both her mother and father.   She enjoys the subjects of science and art and plans to major in biology while attending college.  Mariel plays an array of
sports including ultimate frisbee, volleyball, ping pong, and diving.
She considers herself to be an exceptionally adept snowboarder and she.  She has also played Piano for 10
years.

 

Amanda

L.

  Amanda was born in Berkeley and raised in Kensington. She likes
Saturday mornings, crossword puzzles, and coffee, preferably all
together. Next year she hopes to attend college where it snows, even
though she hates the cold. She is not sure whether she wants to be a
rocket scientist or an English major, but she'll have fun filling her
general education requirements and trying to find out.

 
 

Ben

M.

 

    Ben Manlove is a natural born wild child. His nicknames range from "Hot Sweaty Manlove" to "Ben 'U Gotta Have Some' Manlove."  At 17, Ben is an only child, living in a white privileged home in the North Berkeley Hills. His life revolves around baseball and socializing. He loves the outdoors, especially beaches where on a sunny day he can sit out and catch cosmic rays. Ben participates in many recreational activities as well. From frisbee to drawing Nor-Cal stars, Ben spends a lot of his time with a smile on his face. Ben is a focused individual and will go far one day. But, for now, he remains in Ms. Wilson-Scott's class writing memoirs for audiences to feast on.

 

Nico

M.

 

          Hi!  My name is Nico Martinucci, and I'm a senior at Berkeley High!
I'm not much of a writer, so this is my first crack at memoirs, and I
hope you like it!  I'm a musician most of the time.  I play mostly
clarinet (in two different orchestras), but I also play a little
saxophone and a little guitar.  Next year, I'm most likely going to be
attending University of Washington in Seattle.  Enjoy!

 
 

Zach

M.

 

    A stubborn crazy kid raised in Oklahoma. willing to do whatever it takes to be there for the team. Loves his team and the game of football.

 

Byron

M.

 

  Byron hopes to attend Harvard and study something really prestigious. After he gets rich from his career in the prestigious subject, Byron plans to work as a mechanic. Occasionally, he will leave work to fly his private fighter jet around the world or take a trip on his private cruise ship to Monte Carlo. However, Byron does like to plan for the worst, and if he does not get rich through his prestigious degree, he will turn to a life of crime; probably the most prestigious life of crime ever lived. For now, however, Byron’s only aspiration is to get a better grade in Ms. Wilson’s class.

 

Bryanna

M.

 

My name is Bryanna and I’m a senior, I really like the name Lord Riggims who is the main character in my story and I like the name Chester for some awkward reason.
 

Terrance

M.

 

 Terence means was born on august 25, 1990 in east Oakland at the highland hospital. His birth mother was a drug addict and an alcoholic, So Terence was put up for adoption by the state of California when he was only about 3 weeks of age. He was adopted thereafter by a good mother and father. His father which was loved by a lot of people passed away when Terence was only 3. Growing up all over the bay area from San Francisco to Oakland, Albany, Berkeley and all the way to Richmond, Terence really got to be a “Bay Boy”. One of Terence’s favorite things to do as a hobby, growing up, was art. He loved to paint and design things, paint models, color pictures and such things. He was influenced by just about his whole family. Family members like his mom, uncle, grandmother, cousins, and even his younger brother. He plans to graduate and go to Berkeley community college, and from there he is not sure.

 

Hannah

M.

 

Hannah enjoys Into the Wild, Jonathan Saffran-Foer, Arrested Development and Rayshawn.

 
 

Spencer

M.

 

Spencer Moody's dream as a child was to become one of three things: a ninja, a ninja turtle, or the emperor of a distant land. The failure to live up to these lofty aspirations has in turn caused many sleepless nights and heated internal existentialist debates. His writing reflects none of this. His writing does however include a number of cheap laughs which will entertain those who aren't particularly intellectually sophisticated. If giggling and mild amusement are serious pastimes of yours, then go no further, you have found your mecca.

 
 

Kevin

M.

 

 

 

Riva

M.

 

      Riva is pretty much just herself. She's been known to be called crazy, and she would never deny this, except that she probably knows more about mental illnesses than any of her accusers. Riva intends to study psychology in college, and, if she gets in to Hampshire, the concept of thought, itself. Her primary hobby used to be questioning reality, but she's sort of outgrown that over time. Now, she just tries to get everyone else to question it. Riva writes because she doesn't seem to have any alternative. Sometimes, there are just words in your head, and if you don't put them on paper, or at least type them, they'll be there forever. Riva shares her writing because she's determined to change the world. Wish her luck.

 

Kyler

M.

 

Kyler. Berkeley High. Mac & Cheese is my choice of edibles. I like the
Kraft and the Annie's - yes I like both.
I threaten at six feet two inches, one hundred and eighty pounds - a fit body type. Blond hair, blue eyes. Feet, size eleven and a half sometimes twelve, in mens... I like shoes.  They call me "el tiburón" in the pool, and "LSD" on the court. I've been told if one stares into my eyes celestial pools of renewal or abominations yielding the fury
of Pelides can be seen.
I reside in the temple known as Cee during the fourth hour. Do not
seek me; If I wish to be sought you will be found.
Surfing.

 

Kara

M.

 

     My name is Kara and I was born and raised in Oakland, but have attended Berkeley public schools since the 6th grade. I’ve always enjoyed creative and enjoy the opportunity to do it in a classroom environment. Aside from writing my passion is in social work and I hope to eventually become a teacher or youth counselor and perhaps major in some sort of humanities studies. But don’t quote me on that. My memoir is about dealing with theft when the culprit is close to home.     
 

Sarah

N.

 

   Sarah Neuhaus was born and raised in Berkeley, CA. She enjoys reading, making artwork, and hanging out with her friends. She loves reading murder mysteries, and her favorite author is Dorothy L. Sayers. Sarah plays softball, soccer, and field hockey and has danced Flamenco since she was five. Of all her sports, she loves softball the most and hopes to be able to play in college next year.  And, unlike most people, Sarah does not want to go to a small, liberal arts college on the East Coast.  She would much rather remain in California and go to one of the UC's.

 

Chelsea

N.

 

    Chelsea was born and raised in Berkeley and Oakland. She loves giving advice, eating, having deep conversations, making new friends, photography, and writing. The events and experiences throughout her life are what inspire her to write. Lox has just moved into a new house in a beautiful neighborhood. Everything is perfect until he starts hearing voices.

 

Isaac

P.

 

   Isaac Pasternack (born Isaac Pasternack on June 4th, 1990) is an Israeli-born American hard rock bass guitarist and vocalist. He is best known as "The Demon", his blood-spitting, fire-breathing, and tongue-wagging persona in the hard rock band Kiss, an act which he co-founded in the early 1970s.
 

Jamesha

R.

 

    

 
 

Gina

R.

 

Gina Rapaport has lived in Berkeley all her life. She enjoys the simple things in life like...
her cat, pad thai, and doodling whilst she is bored. The crime unit was her fav. So go
check out her story because it rocks.
 

 

Noah

R.

 

    Noah Rose is a very nice boy.  Sometimes his hair is long and flowing, but requires far too much attention.  Sometimes his hair is short, and then it emphasizes his large facial features.  Sometimes his minimal facial hair grows in diagonal lines across his jawline.  This would be awesome if it would grow in thicker.  Tales of his boyhood are the only things more interesting than his intense, intense amber-brown eyes, eyes that seem to stare into your past and future at the same time.

 
 

Rachel

R.

 

    

     Rachel Ruggles has lived in an intimate neighborhood in North Berkeley her entire life.  Here, she has developed a keen sense of community and friendship.  She has attended a variety of different schools, both public and private, but has found her ultimate niche at Berkeley High.  While she loves creative writing, she finds her greatest inspiration through the language of music, and plans to attend Conservatory next year. 

 

Silvie

S.

 

Silvie Senauke spends her time skydiving and baking—preferably at the same time. In fact, she’s such a good multi-tasker that she wrote this story while she was skydiving and baking. She’d have spoken to you herself, except she was so busy with these various exciting activities. Instead, she bade me tell you that in three months she will run off and join the circus, so do not try to mail her anything. She also wants me to warn you that if she keeps having to do homework, that departure date may be moved up. For example, tomorrow is sounding good to her right now. Occasionally Silvie lets her alter-ego Super Silvie take over. Most often when this happens she ends up blasting through the roof and heading over to Berkeley Bowl, so be on the lookout.

 

Nate

S.

 

My name is Nate. You should read my memoir. I’m not sure who would actually be reading this, but if its a pedophile please stop at the words go away in all capitals. GO AWAY. For the rest of you, have fun reading this, but don’t set your expectations too high. Enjoy.
 

Kayla

S.

 

Kayla Sims was born in Oakland on July 26th 1990, but has lived in Bezerkley, in the same house, for her entire life. Currently she has a career at being the typical high school senior with a recurring case of senioritis, and is rushing to get things done for college. So far she has managed to finish applications for seven universities, on time, and got four acceptances (so far). So this senior has every intention of attending a CSU or a UC. In other news, she's a bit quirky, is socially inept, loves writing and drawing, hates science
and reads scary amounts of books. Oh, and is very, very bad at being on time for deadlines. This bio itself is over a month overdue.Whoops. So, I now present to you my story.
 

John

S.

 

My name is John Stevick and I am a rising Senior attending Berkeley high School.  I am seventeen years old and my favorite subjects consist of English, Math, and Science.  I aspire to be the best in all that I do; I am prolific.  I consider myself to be a serious student when it comes to academics, however I must admit that I don't take anything TOO seriously.  My main interests are sports and just being around other people.   At this point and time I have experienced a magnificent life. And being so, I try to embrace all that is given to a person in life.  I truly enjoy life in all its complexities and cultures.   At this moment I am attempting a career as an R&B singer.  however, if it is not meant to be I will be a mechanical engineer or the president of the United States.
 

Ben

S.

 

 White, male, eighteen, seeking successful career in the literary arts.
 

Ashley

S.

 

 Ashley Swihart is a senior at BHS. She has attended BUSD schools her whole life and likes them very much.  Ashley has three older siblings, and two loving parents. She is interested in studying Psychology in college, but not quite sure where she wants to go yet. She loves writing stories so that’s why she joined this class this year and she hopes you like this one!

 

Tony

T.

 

 
 

Sharlana

T.

 

Sharlana is a student at Berkeley High School and is now a senior. She enjoys singing, rapping, poetry, as well as song writing. On her spare time she is at the studio or just living life to the fullest. Writing this memoir has “ helped me develop my writing” she explains. Her inspirations are her grandmother, experiences, and the haters. She is determined and has potential so readers please look out for her next project!
 

Francesca

V.

 

Francesca was born in Oakland but she now lives happily in Berkeley.  Francesca enjoys lots of things. Some of her favorite activities include: Tennis, hanging out with friends and on Thursdays she enjoys watching her favorite T.V show The Office.
 

Maxine

W.

 

Maxine Wally likes long walks on the beach, romantic candle lit dinners, monster truck shows, writing short stories, reading, receiving an education, and having deep conversations with Jasper Hitchen. Food is also a necessary indulgence; hook her up with a lemon meringue pie and she is solid. One day she hopes to speak with Barack Obama and Lil Wayne.
 

Carolyn

W.

 

Carolyn Wegner is an only child and lives in California with her parents, and cat, Michelle.  She was born in June, 1990.  She enjoys biking, climbing and hiking and really really really wishes she knew how to ski. She hopes to become fluent in French and Italian at some point in life.  This summer, she and her friends hope to do some backpacking and other oudoorsy activities up north, and travel in France, if they get their act together and plan it. This fall, Carolyn will go to the University of Oregon, Colorado, or Washington. She has absolutely no idea which one. 

 

Max

W.

 

-Born 9/16/89 12:30 weather lightening storm
-Four goes to Grizzly Peak pre-K
-Five, Bancroft kinder garden
-Six, B.U.S.D will not accept Bancroft as a kinder garden so I have to repeat it
-Eight, start taking Paxil
-Till seventh I refuse to think about it
-Seventh and Eighth see memoir
-Ninth about up forthcoming
 

Ben

W.

 

Ben White lives in Berkeley CA with his father and his younger sister. He spends every other weekend in Fairfield, visiting his mother and his step father. He is inspired by James Frey, Sister Souljah, David Henry Sterry and the creativity in the hip hop culture. He strongly believes that “no one is perfect but everyone can do better.” He plans on attending SF state and majoring in psychology. He doesn’t want to give too much away, but here is a brief introduction to his memoir, “The flames eat through my skin with ease, causing my body to go through unbearable agony… The pain causes a piercing scream to escape my lungs which echoes through my ears. I hear demons and their demented laughter. I hear the fire tearing through my tissue. I hear………a baby?”
 

Leo

W.

 

2 3/4 cups cake flour; 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder; 2 teaspoons baking soda; 3/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 3/4 cups sugar; 4 large eggs; 2 large egg yolks
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/7 cup mystery
 

Rowan

W.

 

Rowan was born in Berkeley, California.  Besides her parents, she has one sister, a dog, and a cat.  She is interested in art, especially drawing, and writing.  Rowan has been learning French at school for four years, as well as taking classes in Japanese since she was in Eight grade.  She likes traveling, and would love to visit either country in later life, though she has been to France before. Outside of school, Rowan volunteers as a math tutor, and assists at the Berkeley Animal Shelter.  Next year, Rowan is planning to attend college, either at a UC school, or out-of-state.
 

Jeremy

W.

 

Jeremy is seeking a pet monkey to play with him. In the meantime, he wrote this mystery story to pass the time. He has no plans for the next four years of his life, but is really looking forward to managing a life in Scotland around the year 2013. There's a lot of words that can sum up Jeremy, but I have to refrain from using words to describe him. He told me it wasn't worth his time to use words to describe him. Instead, he told me to tell you to think of an old Irish folk song singing about Riverdancing. He says it will cheer you up more than this story he wrote.
Thomas

Z.

 

My name is Hong, who is frequently called Thomas, has already “come” to this world for seventeen years. Well, in my first fourteen years, I spent my lifetime to live in China with my parents. Although I felt confident when I stepped onto this new country three years ago, I did not imagine how difficult for me to learn English. Oops, back to my memoir, I would like talk about my past; but not to write a memoir, because I believe memory should not be put into languages- no matter how true it is.