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The Life of Riley Enciso

The Day I Made My First Friend

The story of my first friend all started when I was in kindergarten. It
was recess time and I was playing jump rope by myself. A girl from my
class came up to me, and suddenly pushed me. I fell on the floor and
started crying and told her that I was going to tell on her. She begged
me not to tell on her to our teacher named Mr. Hill, but I did anyways.
That day she got a red card instead of a green card, and that meant she
was not behaving. After that she apologized to me and I forgave her and
we became friends. Ever since then we have been friends. She is now
my best friend, and her name is Sequoia. I never thought that we would
be so close, but we are. We have very different interests, but what
brings us so close is our personalities. I wouldn't be able to be who I am
today if it weren't for Sequoia.

My relationship with Dance

Dance is a big part of me that makes me happy. I have always been
shy, but dancing has always helped me conquer that. In 3rd grade I joined
what was called Multicultural Club. It was where anyone that went to my
elementary school could join to learn different types of dances and perform
it at the end of May. I had so much fun dancing and making new friends. I
did it up until 5th grade then I went to 6th grade. At first I was sad, but then
my mom signed me up for dance classes in Torrance with Sequoia, but I
only went for about 2 months. After that, Sequoia told me about an after
school dance program at Stephen White Middle School. Right after she
told me that, I asked my mom if I can join and she said yes. I stayed for 1
year in 6th grade and in the 7th grade took a break from dance. In early
May I saw a flyer advertising tryouts for a dance team that 8-18 year olds
could join. I was so excited because it was the same dance team that I
heard 8th graders talk about when I was a 6th grader, but only incoming
high schoolers and current high schoolers could join at that time. I told
Sequoia and my other friends and we all wanted to tryout. So around early
May, we walked to the park and tried out. We all made it and it has been
so fun dancing, performing, and making new friends. If I didn’t join
Multicultural, I probably wouldn’t have the passion for dance that I do now.

First Day of Middle School

Middle school was a big deal for me because that meant some of
my friends from elementary school won’t go to the same school as me,
and we might not have the same classes. I was very scared because I
already knew my friends aren’t in my classes and that I might not have
anyone to hang out with. I only had Sequoia in my homeroom, but that
was it. When I went to my first class we sat in assigned seats. I sat next
to 2 girls one beside me and one in front of me. I was nervous to talk to
them and they already knew each other. We had the same class for 2nd
period so it was my chance to try to have a conversation with them.
They told me their names were Racquel and Irene. We weren’t able to
talk as much but we were still able to. They invited me to go sit with
them at lunch and I accepted it. During lunch I sat with them but I kind of
felt left out because I didn’t know anyone, so I left to find my other
friends. I found them, but they already had their own group of friends
that they made. I found Sequoia and she was by herself. I told her to
come with me to meet my new friends, so we did. I’m still friends with
Racquel and Irene and for 2 years we all sat at the same area and the
group grew bigger and bigger. I also noticed that my other friends from
elementary have their own friends now and that we aren’t close as we
used to be. We still say hello to each other and have small talk, but
that’s it. Thanks to Middle School, it has taught me that some friends will
come and go, but some will stay.

School Success

In 2nd grade I read a book about a boy who wants to go to school,
but he couldn't afford it. When I was reading it I got confused because
I thought going to school was free. My teacher explained to us that
not all places have schools that are free in different places. The book
also made me wonder why he wanted to go to school in the first place
because I would always say how much i disliked it because they
made us wake up early, do homework, and learn stuff we didn't want
to learn about. I would also complain about how school should pay us
because we would have to go almost every weekday to learn and we
didn't get anything out of it. At least that's what I thought. The book
didn't really mean much to me when I was younger, but now that I
understand, it made me realize that going to school is very important
because it gives you an opportunity to have a better future. The boy
in the book was poor and the reason he wanted to go to school was
so he can get that chance to have a better life. Now every time I
complain about school, I remind myself that I should be thankful to
have this opportunity to go to school and have a closer chance to a
happy and educated life.

About the Author

My name is Riley Enciso and I was born in Torrance, California on April
14, 2004. I live with my parents, grandparents, and two dogs. I love puns
and dad jokes and I'm usually known as the weird one by my friends. I love
shopping for myself, and I love going places. Especially if that place has
food. I don't like hugs unless I'm hugging a dog. I don't like it when it's quiet
when I'm doing my work, but I don't like it when it's too loud. On the
weekends, I usually watch netflix most of the time or watch youtube
because being lazy is one of my favorite things to do. I also like to make
simple dance choreography with Sequoia and videotape ourselves and
then later watch it, and we would laugh at ourselves because of how funny
we look dancing. When you meet me I might be quiet and shy, but once I
get to know you, I will become very annoying and talkative, and hopefully
you will find me funny because I love to make people laugh. If you ever see
me in a bad mood I highly recommend you to feed me.