...which made my jaw drop!

Erik Gray's Journals

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A school paper written 2012

Erik Gray

B3- US Gov’t

Court Trip

            On January 10, 2012, we went to the Courthouse to watch a couple of cases. I never realized how many cases the judge hears a day. I’ve only seen in movies where there is just one big week-long trial. There were some no-shows, there were inmates sitting on the side, and there were some review cases of people sitting in the audience. There was even a man who owes more than $22,000, which made my jaw drop.

            One of the inmates I actually recognized as a kid who went to our school and was on the track team. If I was on trial when a group of students I know that a couple years younger than me were watching, I would feel really stupid and just not want to be there. I’m sure that’s how he felt.

            There were a couple of things I noticed that really stuck out to me. Everything the judge gets, even papers, is handed to him from the Bailiff. The defendant, or even the lawyers, cannot reach out and hand a paper to the judge. Another thing I noticed is that Judge Westfall really cares about the people whose cases he is reviewing. He wants to help, and he wants them to turn their lives around. I was impressed that as part of a parole for a women, Judge Westfall said that she would write down where she wanted to be in one, five and ten years and he wants her to become more goal-oriented.

            Overall, I think it was a great experience to see our government in action. Two claps to the outstanding judicial branch!

Freedom Academy

Erik Gray's Journals

#journalgems

Written November 2011
Schoolwork

Erik Gray

B3- US Gov’t

Make Up Work

Freedom Academy

            Every year, two students from Cedar High (usually the future Student Body President and Vice-President) are given the chance to attend Freedom Academy. What is Freedom Academy? It is a week-long camp that does a lot of activities that deal with freedom and with the army. The theme for the week was “Freedom Isn’t Free.”

            The camp started on Sunday afternoon. We all met in the auditorium, and were split up into groups of about eight students. A counselor was assigned to our group, and we started to get to know each other. We all got along really well and became friends really fast. Our group colors were blue and green, so we started calling ourselves the “Bloogers” (BL for blue + GR for green= BLGR). That night we were introduced to how life in the army really is. One of the head guys yelled at us to get in formations, do drills, and we basically felt like a bunch of boot camp recruits. After that first night, our group was basically like a family. We all sat by each other during meals, talked a lot, and got to know each other really well.

            Throughout the week we did a bunch of activities. We were at Camp Williams, a camp right at Point of the Mountain. A lot of activities we did were on Camp Williams ground; we heard from a bunch of speakers, shot guns, went rappelling, did a ropes course, drove big tractors, shot more guns, climbed a rock wall, were part of a flag retirement ceremony, and even did a shooting simulation (a lot like what you would see on Halo of Call of Duty or something). We also had a swim/dance party, a talent show, a speech contest, a concert from a male a Cappella group, “minute to win it” games, and another dance at the end of the week.

            We also did a lot of things off base; we toured the state prison, had a SWAT team demonstration, toured a news station, visited the State Capitol, visited the State Courthouse, and toured the Air National Guard base.

            The most fun activity was definitely the dance: imagine about 100 or 150 outgoing student leaders at one place, partying like crazy. That’s exactly what those dances were like.

            My favorite activity was probably the flag retirement ceremony. It was really amazing. I have never been to one before. We listened to a recording of the whole story about the star spangled banner. When we burned the old flags, I thought it was really sad. The emotions were just so high in everyone that a lot of people were teary-eyed. That was one time that I felt really blessed to live here in a free country.

            Some of the things I learned at Freedom Academy are this:

1.      We are not here alone. The people we meet can help strengthen us and our lives. Most of us from Freedom Academy still keep in touch, through texting and Facebook, so we are able to talk about life and even share ideas about school things.

2.      America is a GREAT place.

3.      As stated in the last paragraph, we really are super blessed to live in the United States of America. We are free. Freedom is what only few countries have.

4.      Freedom isn’t free. People have given so much for our country, and we owe them a lot of respect.

            I’m really glad I got to attend Freedom Academy, I wouldn’t trade the experiences I’ve had and what I’ve learned for anything. It was truly an enlightening experience.

Building a Loft

Erik Gray's Journals

#journalgems

2009

.....While choosing a project, I wanted to make sure that it would have lasting benefits, and that it would be enjoyed by many people for many years.

When looking for a project, I decided to check things out the Family Support Center of Southwestern Utah. This place offers many services for families and children.....

......I finally came down to the decision of building a loft inside the house in their main room. The room is filled with toys and games for children to play with, but one of the things it needed was the loft.....

      

    I learned a couple things from this service project. First of all, serving others provides one of the best feelings in the world, at least for me. I love to help people out. The ones who benefit from the service also have a great feeling inside, and are grateful for the time that someone took out of their day to help. Secondly, everything needs careful planning, leadership, and having everything kept in order- even something as small as a little construction. Naturally, life would be a mess if no one ever took charge and if things were never in order. The third and final thing I learned is that I need to be grateful for the things that I have. Some kids aren’t as lucky as others, their family may be unstable or they may be suffering in some other areas. We need to embrace the people and things that we have, and put an arm around those who aren’t so well off. We need to love those around us, and always be willing to give an extra hand to those who truly need it.