The Alchemist: The Art of Transformation

62 Pages·2015·2.97 MB·English

by  Shelly Peterson

The Alchemist:
The Art of Transformation
Volume 14 2015
THE ALCHEMIST:
The Art of Transformation
©2015 Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs
Editor: Molly Springs ALC Staff & Students
Michelle Peterson
Cover Art: Destiny Garcia – Ivan Sand Community High School
TABLE OF CONTENTS
5. 50 MILES BACK – Bobbie Jo Spangler -Paladin Career & Technical HS
7. PUMPKIN WATERCOLOR AND INK – Amanda Calvert – River Bend ALC
8. COULD DO BETTER – Tessa Christensen – White Bear Lake ALC
9. ABSTRACT LOVE – Anthony Pra – Rochester ALC
10. EVERY MORNING – Nico Crowley – Ivan Sand CHS
11. AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE – Andrew Vega – Jennings CLC
12. FALLING SNOW – Megan Phillips – Grand Rapids ALC
14. BUILDING – Quintin Melcher – Ivan Sand CHS
15. FIGHTING – Alex Smith – Worthington ALC
16. CITY SCAPE – Nicholas Paulsen – Wadena ALC
17. GRADUATION – Rashaan Pomani – Worthington ALC
18. CROSS – Jessica Vutha – Rochester ALC
19. HAIKUS – Pedro Dieguez – Worthington ALC
20. CABIN – Danny Cooper – River Bend ALC
21. HOPE – Andru Nelson – White Bear Lake ALC
22. DESPICABLE – Anastasia Haggenmiller – Jennings CLC
23. I AM FROM – Mariah Campbell – White Bear Lake ALC
24. DRAGON – Brian Rose – STEPS Sauk Rapids/Rice
25. I WONT BE SELFISH – Karina Ostrander – Ivan Sand CHS
26. DRAGON – Claire Dahl – Rochester ALC
27. INCIDENT – Austin Laroen – White Bear Lake ALC
28. FLOWER AND DOTS – Cecilia Spike – Ivan Sand CHS
29. LIGHT OF LIFE – Nico Crowley – Ivan Sand CHS
30. FLY FREE – Camille Weber – BOLD ALC
31. MISFIT – Delajah Frazier – Paladin Career & Technical HS
NATIVE AMERICAN – Dominic Kroulik – Waubun ALC
32. GIRL ON THE COVER – Alana Fackler – River Bend ALC
33. OLD CLASSIC – Brandy LeDoux – Pillager Area Charter School
34. GRENDEL – Taylor Fromm – River Bend ALC
35. OUR WORLD – Trevor Mortinsen – White Bear Lake ALC
36. UNTITLED – Jacob Zimmer – Redwood Area Schools
37. RED – Kylee Novak – Ivan Sand CHS
SOLITUDE – Nico Crowley – Ivan Sand CHS
38. KITTEN – Alexis Savela – Wadena ALC
39. RHYTHYM AND RHYME – Nico Crowley – Ivan Sand CHS
TABLE OF CONTENTS CONT.
40. ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE – Danny Cooper – River Bend ALC
41. ROOM 1643 – Cole Nyberg - Worthington ALC
43.REFURBISHED COFFEE TABLE – Shelena Aredeondo – Redwood Area Schools
44. SKYRIM - Cameron Coile – White Bear Lake ALC
45. ROSE – Jadyn Shumaker – Rochester ALC
46. SOCCER – Ana Marian Costillo – Worthington ALC
47. SCAREY CAT – Brian Rose – STEPS Sauk Rapids/Rice
48. THATS LIFE – Dayna Thompson – Waubun ALC
TIME SQUARE – Evan Johnson – Owatonna ALC
49. STATUE OF LIBERTY – Chandler Asper -STEPS Sauk Rapids/Rice
50. THE BEAST WITHIN – Damon Bevins & Dominic Kroulik – Waubun ALC
51. TOGETHER – Chelsea Jewell – White Bear Lake ALC
52. STRING ART – Tara Flannigan – Jennings ALC
53.UNNOTICABLE - Sara Betharte -White Bear Lake ALC
54. SURREALISM – Katie Currier – River Bend ALC
55. WHERE I AM FROM – Madeline Lodden – White Bear Lake ALC
56. UNTITLED 1 & 2 – Shayne Kathman – Paladin Career & Technical HS
57. WHERE IM FROM – Christopher Stamnes – White Bear Lake ALC
58. UNTITLED 3 – Shayne Kathman – Paladin Career & Technical HS
59. WORK HARD FOR YOURSELF – Linda Rueda – Worthington ALC
YOUR LOVE – Mauricio Rivera – Worthington ALC
60. COLLAGE OF OTHER STUDENTS WORKS
61. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
62. SUBMTTING SCHOOLS LIST
50 MILES BACK
264,000 feet
50 miles to be exact
The fifty miles we had to travel
to earn our color back
Whips and chains
the white people to blame
We work while they play their dirty little games
A time where “nigger” has become all of our names
Finally freed in 1863
still shackled by a nation of discrimination
we must prove ourselves
Being black does not mean I’m going to attack
all I did was simply smile back
I can’t sit in that spot, my skin is too dark
I can’t attend that school, “negroes” aren’t that smart
I can’t vote for that man, because of the color I am
This is sickening, someone has to take a stand
Little Rock Nine, Nelson Mandela, Frederick Douglass, Rosa
Parks, and Martin Luther King
All names of people who let our freedom ring
Beat, battered, and bruised
a culture still refusing to lose
fighting for dreams, no punches
dedicated to freedom, no lunches
protesting for equality, no violence
marching for rights, no silence
A nation shifts as the years continue
slices of racism still offered on the menu
Common flavors still remain the same
yet bitter options have made themselves a name
A culture once sweetened with peace and equality
now riddled with disrespect and hypocrisy
When did the color of our boxes become superior to the color
of our skin?
Making an entire country think we’re rotten from within
How can we demand respect
when you just robbed a man from his last paycheck
He breaks his back and sweats
trying to provide for his family’s next steps
but all is taken away by teenagers trying to gangbang
claiming trapping is the way instead of an education nowadays
Have fun putting that on a resume
You see, we loot and pollute our own neighborhood
so how do we expect them to treat us good?
Getting mad over a white man killing our brothers,
but we’re doing the same thing to each other
No better are we from one another
so why can’t we learn to love and accept each other
As our generation would put it
We need to make moves
There’s more to our skin color to prove!
Don’t play dumb now, you know what I mean
It’s time to pick our culture up and continue the King’s dream
Bobbie Jo Spangler
Paladin Career & Technical HS
Amanda Calvert
River Bend ALC
COULD DO BETTER
I am from oversized, dreadful costume dresses,
From ugly Barbies with shredded plastic hair and the lung-clogging scent of Marlboro cigarettes.
I am from the strenuous movement back and forth between my separated parents’ homes,
tedious, heavyhearted.
It felt exhausting, constantly feeling the deepest need to escape.
I am from the weeds that grew through the cold, cracked concrete, the hard, plastic, unscented flowers inside
my mothers house.
I’m from the crowded, cherished family reunions on my moms side and Christensen cherry noses,
from Nannette and the humbug source, Robert.
I am from the anger outbursts and sleeping as a way to escape.

I am from “do better” and “you have so much potential,”
From classic Catholicism and lucid Lutherans
I’m from the dirty streets of St. Paul and deep roots that began in Germany.
From smooth, fluffy mashed potatoes and crispy, flaky chicken strips,
From the deaths I've experienced since I was four.
From the constant reminder that everything is on me, “blame yourself.”
In a cold basement on painted white shelves, in books assorted in chronological order, sit glossy photos that
only show the shell of what lies within.
I am from the shrinking strength and pushing me through the dark days of this so called life.
Tessa Christensen
11th Grade
White Bear ALC
Anthony Pra
Rochester ALC
EVERY MORNING
I wake up, fresh as can be
I hurry and stretch 'cuz I have to pee
Walk down the stairs to get some food
Decide to make some pancakes, because I'm in the mood
Take off my pajamas, no clothes on my back
Look through my closet for a pair of slacks
Finish getting dressed, man I look slick
Spray on some cologne so I can get the chicks
Skip down the stairs, careful not to fall
I put in way too much work just to ruin it all
Grabbed my backpack and I walked out the house
Didn't wake up Mom because I'm quiet as a mouse
Waiting for the bus when I felt a sneeze
ACHOO I woke up, oh geez
I scrambled to get ready with no time to spare
I dreamt the whole thing and wasn't aware
Nico Crowley
Gr 12
Ivan Sand CHS