Two Worlds Colliding

We come from two different worlds, she and I. We are as different on the outside as night and day, but this is not what makes her the "frick" to my "frack" or the yin to my yang. She is short, I am tall. She is from a culturally-rich Spanish background. I, on the other hand, am as American as apple pie and Chevrolet. She is a devout Catholic, raised in the Church and possesses a strong faith in G-d. I, on the other hand was raised as a Conservative Jew, attending "shul" only during the High Holidays, and grew up lacking any kind of connection to a higher power. She grew up knowing of the diversity that exists within a community. My idea of diversity went as far as what temple was one a member of- Reform, Conservative or Orthodox. She became a mother when she was a mere child herself, having her third child even before I had my first. We are more than a decade apart in years, yet it is as though we have known each other our entire lives. I often ask myself how much more different two people could possibly be, yet I believe that our lives were meant to intersect. It has recently dawned on me that she and I are very much like carefully selected pieces of fabric sewn together in a colorful quilted blanket. One relying on the other to come together in a beautiful display of synchronicity. Those who come to know us become keenly aware of the ease with which we are with one another.  It is not what you see on the outside that makes our relationship beyond words, it is a connection that I have experienced with few others. She and I met, by chance, in a Spanish class at Suffolk Community College four years ago. All I needed to hear was her great big booming voice and I knew this was a girl I wanted to meet. After all, my voice, not the sweet, soft melodious kind either, had never met anyone quite as loud as me. Well, it has been a wonderful ride getting to know her. I call her my friend and my comrade in arms as we have supported one another over these past 3 years as we complete our Graduate Education studies. She is my soul-sister yet while we may not know everything about each other I feel as though I have known her my entire life. She came into my life so unexpectedly, much like two worlds  colliding, yet I embraced the relationship's newness with fervor. I know I will always call her my friend and I can't even remember what life was like before we met. One thing's for certain, my frienship with her, I mean, Joanne will most definitely stand the test of time. Yes, we are the two "girls" who always walk into Jackie's class together and at 7:30 p.m. will be the ones leaving together as she's yelling, "Come on LJ, let's get home already!"

Vocabulary

frick and frack (noun)- an expression used when speaking about two things that go together
yin and yang (noun)- a Chinese expression used to talk about things that are in harmony or balance with each other
intersect (verb)- two lines, roads or anything else that cross each other
quilted (adjective)- cloth pieces that are sewn together with stitches that cross each other
synchronicity ((verb)- two or more things happening at the same time
melodious (adjective)- having a sweet, musical sound
soul-sister (noun)- an expression used to describe a strong connection between two women
fervor (noun)- very strong belief or feeling

Exercise: Word Search

Directions: Try to find all the vocabulary words in the Word Search below. Words can be found going across or down.

I Z H Y K T N H E X
N Q A A S J F T B R
T Y N Y A A M R X A
E M E L O D I O U S
R G W F Y T N Z F F
S O U L S I S T E R
E F R A C K N I R I
C N E E O G I L V C
T Y A N G O E O O K
Q U I L T E D L R F

Grammar Point: Pronouns are words used to replace nouns or noun phrases in a sentence. There are several different kinds of pronouns- subject, object, and possessive. Words such as I, you, she it, me, us, them, yours, its and ours are examples of words used to replace a noun. (ie. Peter can be replaced with him,  box can be replaced by it, and Sally and Tim can be replaced with theirs.) Identify at least 5 of the Pronouns used in the paragraph above. Has there ever been a person that you met unexpectedly? Write a short paragraph about that person using at least 3 subject, 3 object, and 3 possessive pronouns.

Below are two great sites for learning about Pronouns!


http://www.superduperinc.com/handouts/pdf/173%20Teaching%20Pronouns.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg9MKQ1OYCg&feature=related