Mark McNees Digital Portfolio Mrs. McGee 2B

1. Who am I? Hello There The Bucket List Mark McNees Digital PortfolioMrs. McGee 2B Six Word Memoir Written Assignments Creative Writing Click the Skulls to Navigate To Return to this page, click the skulls in the bottom right corner. Throwback MY SOUL

2. Who am I? Who am I you might ask? Well my name is Mark McNees and most of you know me by now. I was born on June 14, 1991 and I have lived in Virginia Beach for about six years now. I cannot wait to leave. I know it’s surprising but my favorite sport to play is tennis. I thoroughly enjoyed my first year playing at Kellam. I was recently granted admission to Virginia Tech and I cannot wait to get there; I feel that college will be the best years of my life. I am also fifty percent Scottish. Just thought you would like to know that. Well I don’t feel like explaining anything further so I hope you enjoy my portfolio.

3. Hello There Dear Reader, This is the section where I’m supposed to reflect on my writing throughout the years so here it goes. I think it’s fair to say that my writing in elementary school was quite primitive. First of all, you couldn’t even read my writing, spelling and punctuation were atrocious, and the overall quality of my writing was just awful. Then again, is any writing in elementary school exceptional? My middle school writing vastly improved from elementary school. My writing got neater and I actually focused more on putting my thoughts into words rather than the garbage I used to write in the early years. Even though the quality of my writing still wasn’t the greatest, it was still an improvement. When I think about it, my high school writing is quite average. I am perpetually getting fours, fives, and sixes with an occasional seven here and there. I think I’ve only had one nine in all of high school and that was on Pilgrim at Tinker Creek of all books (between you and me, I didn’t read it). I guess my high school writing was acceptable considering that I have made good grades all through high school. Now that I am off to college, I feel that Mrs. McGee has prepared me well for what is coming up in the next four years Regards, Mark McNees

4. Bucket List • Go to a World Cup soccer match • Go to a Duke UNC basketball game • Go to a party in the Playboy Mansion • Build a real tree fort • Skydive • Play a round of golf at Augusta, Georgia • Have my portrait painted • Brew my own beer • Learn how to ballroom dance properly • Be on a jury • Go to Oktoberfest in Munich • Shower in a waterfall • Drive coast to coast across America • Learn to juggle • Find a job I love • Create my family tree • Make a hole in one • Run a marathon • Learn to yoddle • Ride in an air balloon • Swim with dolphins • Be fluent in another language • Spend the night in a haunted house • Experience Weightlessness • See a Lunar Eclipse

5. Six Word Memoir WHY AM I ALWAYS SO HUNGRY?

6. Written Assignments Eleven Essay We Were the Mulvaneys Essay College Essay

7. Creative Writing “Great War” By moonlit sky, In a different world, Under enemy fire, I’m afraid tonight. The colonel’s vocal chords rip through the night, Erotic insects gnaw upon my flesh, The atmosphere is tense, In this Great War. Oh, where’s my place, Among the ranks? My brain is mangled, Looking for different reasons. Searching, hoping, What am I more than A helpless soul, Between Heaven and Earth?

8. Throwback First Grade Third Grade Sixth Grade Seventh Grade

16. College essay I didn’t think that the year could have gotten any worse. Since the beginning of the previous year, my family’s life spiraled down into the deepest level of disaster; I did not know what to think. My father had lost his job in January of 2003 and we pretty much lost everything. Each day was a new struggle that put more pressure on us than ever before. After six grueling months of living basically on nothing, my father finally managed to find a job in the mortgage business in Virginia Beach; although this was a relief, it also meant leaving everything behind that we knew and loved to start a new life. For me, settling in to our new home was not as easy as it was for my other family members. While my older siblings were the new popular kids, I had more trouble fitting in. Because of my extreme shyness, nobody really knew me. I was stuck with the label “The Other Brother”, Joe and Megan’s weird little brother. Of course during that time, I didn’t want anything to do with Virginia Beach. Living in the new city did not feel right for me. I struggled socially, making few friends the first few months. To make matters worse, my grandfather, the foundation of our family, had become sick; Hodgkin’s Lymphoma had developed in his blood. Although the news was heartbreaking, the outlook was good. The doctor’s told us that he still had much time left. As it turned out, the doctor’s could not have been more wrong. My grandfather’s condition deteriorated quickly and he passed away on New Year’s Day 2004. My whole family was devastated. Everyone had their way of coping with the loss; some turned to alcohol, which Next Page

17. eventually made matters worse, and everyone fell into some form of depression. My mother and her siblings started to argue about whose fault it was or what could have been done for him to live longer. With all of the bickering and bitterness, I did not recover from this for a long time. After seventh grade and the loss of my grandfather, things seemed like they were not going to get any better. Having no social life what-so-ever did not help either. One day I had an epiphany. I realized that I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself and start acting like a normal teenager. Although it was hard, I actually tried to socialize. Even though I was known as the strange big kid, I managed to make a couple of close friends. It seemed as though that was exactly what I needed: friends. A tremendous weight was lifted off my shoulders. It was the first time I had felt happy in over a year. Although the pain was still there for all my family members from my grandfather’s death, we were all starting to accept it in our hearts and start living our lives again. Everything started going uphill for my family and me and I finally discovered the real me again, who I tucked away with all of my memories of my old home. Although that year was seemingly unbearable for me, I managed to get through it. From having no friends at all to many close friends that I still have today, I think I turned out all right. If there is one valuable lesson I learned from all this, it’s this: Don’t take anything for granted. I know it’s cliché, but my family and I had the perfect life when we lived in Georgia. Everything was going well for us. It seemed as though our luck had run out, and things started to take a turn for the worse. You can’t have everything in life and you have to be prepared for when things go wrong. When everything seems like it’s never going to get better, you always have to look on the bright side and make the best of what you have. Back to Written Assignments