Jacob's Mockingbird Scrapbook

Jacob
Lindstrom’s
Mockingbird
Scrapbook

Neighbor Out of Hell - 220 words
When I was a kid, we had a lot of weird neighbors
come and go but some really stuck out. One of these
neighbors was a teenager who went to Rochester High
School. He was involved with the skating crowd and was all
around not really a good kid. Many nights him and his
friends would be outside late at night doing different things.
Sometimes they would be skating or even playing
basketball. The problem was that it was late at night and
most of our block could hear them. One time my dad went
outside and told them to knock it off. The next day, we woke
up and our house was egged from the back. Eventually his
dad moved out and he seemed to be having late night
gatherings. We suspected that our neighbor was selling pot
and then two different times me and my sister found 20$
bills on the ground in between our houses. My family
assumed that this was pot money.
Although this sounds like a neighbor out of hell
things eventually got better. His dad moved back in with his
mom. Recently I have seen him dressing up a lot nicer and
being a lot more polite. Sometimes it just takes kids a while
to mature and I’m personally glad he seems to have.

Summer Vacation - 214 words
As I was growing up Summer was and still
is my favorite season of the year. I am not a
huge fan of the heat but being out of school is
the main reason that I like Summer. One
Summer my family decided to go to Six Flags in
St. Louis with our cousins. This was the first
real vacation I had ever had. During this trip I
think there was a lot of ups and downs but I
learned a lot about myself and life. This trip was
the first time I started to learn about money and
the fact that eventually I will have to grow up
and do the same thing my dad is doing. This
vacation was sort of the turning point in my
young life. In a way I kind of never wanted this
trip to end. Right after the vacation I was pretty
sad but then the next day came and it was my
12th birthday! This birthday was sort of my last
childhood birthday however I would say it was
more of a new chapter in my life. This birthday
definitely saved me from a bad Summer. I feel
like everyone has gone into depressing times
but the world can give almost as much as it
takes.

The Good and The Bad - 259 words

I’ve had some bad teachers and some great
teachers. However I remember the great teachers much
more than the bad ones. First I will admit I am not an
average student. I will also admit that I definitely do some
dumb things and not all teachers want to deal with that.
There have been many teachers that I make a connection
with and they change my life. Right now I am thinking about
two teachers who changed my life for the better and taught
me things no teachers have ever come close too. These
teachers are Mr. Spear and Mr. Bauser. It’s kind of a funny
story. I had told Mr. Spear that I couldn’t do the musical
because of baseball. Mr. Spear then told me that I could and
he could make arrangements. The next day Mr. Spear had
asked some of the freshmen boys to stay after class. I
wondered why he didn’t call my name and remembered that
the day before I told him I couldn’t. This kind of made me
jealous and caused me to tryout for the musical. After that
the rest is history. Mr. Spear and Mr. Bauser improved me
as a person and my singing ability. This year I made
madrigals because of them and became friends with a lot of
people I would have never known if it wouldn’t have been
for madrigals. These two teachers somehow didn’t kick me
out and instead gave me multiple chances. I feel that I am
who I am today in part because of them.

FSHAP - 204 words
2 years ago I went on a church trip with
my dad and brother. It was called FSHAP which
stands for Father Son Holiness Adventure
Pilgrimage. This trip was an amazing once in a
lifetime experience. Everyday we prayed for
about 15 minutes 4 to 5 times a day. We also
went to mass most days we were on the trip. I
went with my dad and brother Nicholas. I also
knew another kid from St. Jude that came with
his stepdad. Other then that the kids came from
all over the Roman Catholic Diocese of Central
Illinois. We went and did many different things.
Some Days we went to churches and other days
we went kayaking and played paintball. The
thing that we did that was the most fun was
eating at a fancy restaurant but my favorite thing
we did was stay the nights with a group of
Franciscans. This trip taught me a lot about my
faith and personal traits. It also created
memories that I will never forget. This was the
first time that I had ever really left most of my
family for more than one night. I plan to go on
this trip again if they have it.

Assumptions - 228 words
As a student involved in the music department I have
received a lot of prejudice towards myself and many other that
are also involved. Some kids don’t care and there are some that
will try to get laughs from other people. To me this prejudice is
stupid and caused by stereotyping. When you stereotype
somebody you are making an assumption based on an activity
they do or where they are from. This is often a form of bullying
and I believe everyone in the music department has
experienced it somehow. However, this doesn’t really push us
down and instead does the opposite. The funny thing is that
about half of our grade has been involved in the music
department somehow. Yet, many still make fun of it.
I have also experienced prejudice in the music
department. Last year some of the girls in choir found out I was
catholic and started making assumptions about me and my
faith. This kind of makes me mad in a different way but also
taught me a lot. It taught me personally about my faith and
really tested it. I hadn’t really ever thought about why I am
catholic and I probably had one of the smartest brothers to
teach me. He knew just about everything about the faith and is
studying for the next 8 years of his life in seminary.

Christ’s Birthday - 213 words
Christmas is my favorite holiday. We
almost always do and eat the same things but
every year it seems to get better. As a kid I used
to just care about the food and the presents but
now I care more about the food and the family. I
have a pretty strong bond with my family. I was
raised with 7 siblings and 2 parents. Their is: my
oldest sister Meghan, my oldest brother Michael,
my sister Erin, my brother David, my other
brother Nicholas, my youngest sister Anna, and
my youngest brother Sam. Every year we take a
picture in front of the christmas tree with my
whole family. Then we eat cinnamon rolls. Lunch
is also good. We eat swedish meatballs and have
many different homemade dips. However, dinner
is definitely the best. The smell from the food
around the table is inexplicable. My dad cuts the
turkey and then we eat. There is mashed
potatoes, green bean casserole, turkey, gravy,
sweet potato casserole, pineapple salad,
stuffing, and watergate salad. Every year it’s
been the same since I can remember. All the
tastes and smells remind me of my early
childhood. This is why christmas is my favorite
holiday and probably one of the only times my
whole family is together.

The End