Emily


 * __What is the historical setting for this story?__** I've set this story in Alabama, America. It takes place in 1862 during the Civil War. The Civil War was fought between the North and the South parts of the U.S. The South wanted to break away from the U.S. because they wanted to keep slavery, but the North wanted to keep the South and abolish slavery. This story is set in Alabama because slave ships still went to Alabama (illegally) in 1862. The slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean was declared illegal in 1802.


 * __What is true in this story?__** In this story it is true that slaves would be brought to Alabama on ships from other parts of America//.// It is true that "Anna" would be christian and it's also true her family would be christian. "Anna" and her family would have lived on a cotton farm and been very wealthy. She would have home schooled her little brother and sister. She would not have gone to school. It is true that "Anna" was a popular name back then. "Annas" dad would have wiped "Eyerus" but he may have got more angry at "Anna" too.


 * __What is fictional in this story?__** In this story it is fictional that "Anna" would really make friends with a slave but if she didn't there would be no story. It's fictional that the slave would be named "Eyerus" because that's and Ethiopian name and she was from Africa. It's fictional that the family would have got slaves for working in the house and not in the field.


 * __This story is the first chapter of a novel in which__** a girl named Anna that was born and raised in England looses her mother to small pox. "Anna" and her family move to a cotton farm in Alabama. When her father buys slaves to work in the house and on the cotton field he seems to be turning into another man. "Anna" starts to loose her faith in God, she starts to get lonely and depressed until her dad brings home a slave unlike any other.

__**If you want to read MORE about these topics, I used these sources for my story:**__ "The emancipation proclamation" February 19th 2010: http//:www.answers.yahoo.com "slaves and cotton farms" February 20th 2010: http//:www.wiki.answers.com/slaves1862.com "school in 1862" February 20th 2010: http//:answers/georgia.com

=**I'm No City Girl**= by Emily Kiethahn

The wind stings my face, I crouch down to gain speed. My friends in front of me stop at the intersection of Sneaky and Trickster. Someone yells through their helmet "Where are we going?" They head down the mountain and I'm stuck staring at the beautiful sight. The sun is shining and fresh snow covers the slope. Juneau below looks so peaceful. Two more skiers fly past me and i push off to catch up with my friends. This is my home, Alaska, and it has shaped me.

People ask me what I like about living in Alaska. I usually answer by saying the outdoors. That's true, but really what I love the most is how unique and pretty it is here. Every day might not be picture perfect, and it might rain too much in this tiny town, but what if it didn't rain here? Would it really be Alaska? No. every little part of this amazing state makes it unique. From the mountains to the stormy water and the Taku winds blowing up the channel. From the friendly community to the amazing wild life, I love it all.

Living here makes me a different person. Alaska has made me who I am today. If I lived in a city instead of growing up digging worms and making tree houses, I wouldn't like the outdoors. I wouldn't enjoy the sights. I wouldn't savor every moment of being in the sun. I would be a girl that goes to the mall and spends all her time inside. I would be the girl who is scared of nature. I would be that girl who thinks worms are gross and I would be afraid of bugs. I wouldn't be the one girl who, with all the boys in pre-school, killed the big red bugs and watched their guts spill out while all the other girls just screamed. We got in trouble. Alaska has made me the tough girl I am and I would never change that.

While I love Alaska, it has its limitations. Shopping is my favorite sport and in Juneau it's hard to play. Ordering everything online is an option but shipping costs a fortune. It's hard growing up here wanting to go to places all over the world when you're stuck here in Alaska. However, you find out ways Alaska makes up for it, like being able to swim in the ocean and dig in the dirt. Or climb a mountain and then a tree. Or camp on a beach, or fish in a row boat. Or spend every second outside when it's sunny. As a teen now, I would choose nowhere else to grow up besides Alaska.

Alaska is the best choice no matter what. Living here for 14 years now has gave me character and made me myself. If I grew up in somewhere like Florida, who knows who I would be today. When I'm up on that mountain, I can see clearly that there is no better place to live besides Alaska.