Short Story: A Walk on the Beach

I looked up into the air and took a deep breath.  I could smell the salty air and I could hear the roaring waves of the ice cold beach water. I threw my hands and my head back, the sun beaming down directly onto my face, and I dug my feet into the hot sand, while the wind blew through my hair. I was about to step forward so I could feel the water in between my toes when I heard the annoyingly sweet voice of my step-mother, Dana.

“Christina, can you please come into the house!”

I groaned inwardly. Why does she have to always ruin a perfectly good moment?

“Coming!” I yelled as I looked up at the sun. It had to be about lunch time. I sighed and ran to my summer beach house.

Once I was inside, I could see that my father was nowhere to be found, so he must have had an emergency work meeting that would last about three to four hours. I could smell something burning, so I made my way to the kitchen. Standing there was my pregnant step-mother trying to take out a burnt pizza out of the oven with only one oven mitt on. She had a red apron wrapped around her body making her belly look like a swollen red apple. She turned and I could see her flawless caramel skin and her soft green eyes. Her brown curly hair was tied up in a bun, but a few strands were falling out in the front.

“Oh there you are Christina. I was hoping we could have lunch together, but I’m pretty sure that the pizza is burnt. So, I was thinking maybe we could order Chinese?” she asked with a soft voice and a smile.

Eww! Why did she have to be so pretty and kind? Step-mothers are supposed to be flat out mean and ugly.

“Umm, no thanks Dana. I have better things to do than have lunch with you.” I said rather bitterly. Why am I so mean to her again? Oh I remember, she took my dad away from me when my mother died and didn’t give her a year, but six months to lie peacefully in her grave.

Dana looked at me and I could see the hurt in her eyes.

“Oh okay, I guess I could have Chinese by myself.” She sounded so sad that I almost regretted talking to her like that. But, I remembered my mom and all thoughts of regret disappeared.

I walked out of the kitchen and made my way to my bedroom. Since, it was a beach house, it had the perfect outside view of the beach. It used to be my mother’s room because she too shared my love for the beach. I walked over to my bed and plopped down onto it. I reached under my pillow and pulled out my photo album. I flipped through all of the pictures and each time I saw my mother, my heart broke a little more. This album was the only thing that I had left of her besides this house. All of her other things were given away by my dad because he couldn’t face being reminded of her. He even sold our house, but when he tried to sell this one, I put my foot down and threatened to leave if he did.

I placed the album back under my pillow and wiped the stray tears that made their way down my cheeks. I looked at my bedside clock and it said that it was now two o’clock meaning my dad should be home in an hour or two, which gives me just enough time. I ran to my closet and grabbed some jeans and a sweater. There was no need to go to the place I was going in some shorts and a tank top on. I got into the jeans and sweater with the addition of some socks and tennis shoes. Once I was all finished, I made my way towards the front door with my car keys in my hand and my purse with my wallet and cell phone inside.

I almost made it outside when I heard someone crying. Dana was sitting on the couch with the television on. It seemed like she was watching an old romance movie. Well that was typical for Dana. I turned my head before Dana could see me, I was out the door.

Once outside, I went straight to my old Honda Civic and got inside. I took a deep breath and smiled. This car always smelled of my mother’s perfume. I started the car and drove until the beach was no longer in sight. When I made it to Flora’s Flower Shop, I stopped and bought a dozen white roses. I then got back into my car and took a right turn and I was there at my destination, the cemetery.

I got out of my car, locked it and made my way inside. It looked abandoned. There was now a slight breeze and the sky was now gloomy giving it a haunted look. I walked and walked and when I finally made it to the crooked tree and the statue of an angel, I stopped. There was my mother’s grave.

Lillian Marie Evergreen

May your memory be carried on

September 13, 1972- July 23, 2010

I grabbed the dead wilted flowers that lay on her grave and replaced it with the white roses. They were my mother’s favorites, so I know that if she was alive, she would love to have them. I took a step back and then drew in a deep breath.

“Hey mom, I came to visit you again. Today will be a year since the cancer has caused you to go to heaven. Guess what? I think that dad forgot about you. He didn’t even take a day off of work to come and visit you. It’s like he doesn’t love you anymore. You know why? It’s because of Dana. Ever since he married her he stopped loving you. I just wish I could see you again. Then you would be able to straighten things out.”

I don’t know what happen then because all of a sudden I became really sleepy. So sleepy that I decided to lie my head near my mother’s tombstone and fall asleep.

I walked around in my beach house bedroom when I came across this full length mirror. It was strange because this was never there in my room before. Feeding my curiosity, I looked into the mirror. There stood my mother. She looked so beautiful and healthy. She was wearing a white dress that flowed down to her bare feet. Her brown skin was shining, her black wavy hair was down, and her brown eyes were bright. She looked at me and said.

“Honey, I don’t have much time, but I have to tell you something. I will always be with you.”

I looked at her confused “What do you mean mother?” I had tears in my eyes. I was so happy to see my mother. It was like she answered my request.

“I mean that I am always with you. I know it may not seem like it, but I sent Dana.”

“Huh? What?” I now was so confused.

“I sent Dana when I died because I saw how sad you and your father were. So, to help you guys feel better I brought Dana into your life. She was supposed to help your father stay away from committing suicide, since he was so heartbroken and she was to help be your mother and to protect you. Dana and your father remember me too. They even visited my grave to get my approval for marriage in which I granted them. ”

I looked at her shocked. All of this time I have been treating Dana mean because I thought she was replacing my mother. Well, she was but because my mother wanted her to, so she could help me and my father.

“I have been so mean to Dana mom.” I said on the brink of tears

“Well, you know what to do. I love you Christina.” She was fading away fast and before I knew it the mirror was empty.

“I love you too mom.” I said and then I looked around. I was lying on top of my mother’s grave. It was all a dream, but I know what I must do. I got up from my position and wiped the dirt off of my pants. Once I was dirt free, I made my way back home.

When I made it to my home I noticed that my father was home. Great! This would be my perfect chance. I thought. I came in the house and my father and Dana were on the couch together watching that same movie Dana was watching earlier. Wow! I can’t believe Dana saved my father’s life.

“Oh daddy!” I jumped towards him in a bear hug trying not to hit Dana’s belly at all.

“Well hello there Chris, you’re jumpy today.” He said with a frown on his face.

“Can I borrow Dana for a second?” I asked as Dana looked towards me.

“Sure.” He said as I helped Dana up. I led her outside to the beach and we began to walk.

“I am sorry Dana for the way I have been treating you. I have been selfish and mean and all you have ever been to me is nice. I just wanted to know if we could be friends and if you forgive me?” I looked at Dana and I could see the happiness in her eyes. She looked like a child on Christmas day.

“I forgive you Christina. And I will always be your friend.” She said as she walked towards the beach’s shore.

“I just love the beach.” I said as I linked my arm into hers.

“Me too” She said. I looked at her surprised. She had her eyes closed and she had a great smile on her face.

“So about that Chinese food offer, is it still up?” I asked and she turned towards me.

“No.” She said as she looked towards her feet. “Not tonight, because I’m pretty sure that my water just broke.”

She looked back up to me as I looked at her. I smiled and then yelled for my father to come outside.

Autobiographical Personal Essay

I have been afraid of roller coasters for a very long time. It is not simply the fact that they are big and dangerous looking. It is also not because of the heights of the roller coasters. The real reason that I am afraid of roller coasters is because of the fact that they go upside down and straight drops.

It all started when I was a little girl. Back then, I was in the Girl Scouts and we used to go to many places to celebrate for certain things and they would be our fun days. We would go to amusement parks and sometimes even water parks. Well, on day we went to one of these amusement parks. I do not remember the name of this park, but I do remember what I did. It was the first time that I went on this dragon ride. It was sort of like that certain ride that goes back and forth, but each time it went back and forth, it went a little bit higher into the air. I am sure that if you rode this ride, you would have thought it was fun. Well, I thought it was horrible. I keep thinking I was going to fall out of the ride and I was terrified. I wanted my mother and she was not there for me.

After my experience with that dragon ride, I have never really liked any other amusement park rides, even the water park rides. I remember this one ride at a water park in which we slide down this half cut tube one by one. I remember being forced on it and down it and it was horrible. My arms and legs were trashing everywhere to stop my decent, but it did not stop me at all. When I finally made it down to the bottom, my sister laughed and teased me.

Years later, I finally got a chance to face my fear head on. It was a game place where they had this simulated roller coaster thing. My friends persuaded me to get in it and give it a try because when they got in it, they thought it was really cool. Knowing I was scared of roller coasters, I got in it and waited for it to begin. Once it began, it started to twist and turn and even go upside down. I was so freaked out by it that when I got out, I did not say anything. And from then on, I had a fear of roller coasters with drops and upside down tracks.

A couple of years after that, I was fed up with my fear of roller coasters with upside down tracks and straight drops. Why should I be the one who always had to hold the bags when they got on rides? Not I, I would think. So, when I recently told my friends that I did not ride roller coasters, I let myself become persuaded to get on. When I got on the ride (Tatsu from Six Flags Magic Mountain) I was terrified. I knew this ride had upside down tracks, but when I finally rode the ride,  I realized that it was not that bad. So, I made a progression in facing my fear.

To prove to myself that I was fully over my fear, I decided to go on as many roller coasters as I could when I went with my fellow police explorers to Six Flags. I went to ride every ride that they went on except for X2. When I went on the rides I was still a little scared, but I was grateful that I went on them. It helped me become more relaxed and to enjoy amusement parks. So now when I see a roller coaster, if someone asks me if I want to ride that coaster, I would say no because I do not want to, not because I am scared of it.

Semester Persuasive Essay#10: Allowance

Prompt 5: Many parents give children a weekly or monthly allowance regardless of their behavior because they believe an allowance teaches children to be financially responsible. Other parents only give children an allowance as a reward for completing chores or when they have behaved properly. Explain what you think parents should do and why.

Hey my fellow children, let’s talk about allowance. Do you get a weekly/ monthly allowance or do you only get money when your parents think that you have done well with your studies or your chores? How much money do you if you get allowance? Is it a whole lot of money or is it enough to get your needs satisfied from a day to day basis? From whichever way that you look at it, there is allowance given whether it is for a good deed done or just your time to get paid. But there is one thing that I would like to say and that is parents should give their children allowance monthly rather than for when they do good. Although giving children money when they are behaving good sounds very appealing, I believe that parents should give their children allowance monthly because children need to learn how it would be to get a monthly income, not every child is perfect, and children should get the best from their parents.

I believe that parents should give monthly allowance because sooner or later that child is going to become an adult. When that child becomes an adult, hopefully, they would have a job. Since that adult would have a job, they would be getting money from their job either monthly or every two weeks on average. When they acquire this job money, they would need to have a plan on how to balance their money that they get, which money would go to food, bills, savings, etc. If that adult would have gotten a monthly allowance from their parents when they were little, they would already be ahead of the game with organizing their money like which money for food, savings, and extras like clothing. With this kind of earl on training, I think it would make a person more balanced and that is one reason why I think that parents should give their children a monthly allowance.

My second reason that parents should give allowance to their children a monthly allowance is because children are not going to be good every single second of the day. If a parent just gives their child money only based on their attitude, grades, or chores, most children would never get allowance. I know this first hand because my parents do not give us allowance at all because one of the three components is not up on the good side. I know if a child has an attitude than it is a bad thing, but they do not need to void them of any money. They should just lower the amount of allowance that the child is given. If they allowance was monthly, this would make this system easier to apply because the parent’s child would not be as made at them as they would be because they do not have to go around begging and annoying to get money from other sources.

Finally, my last reason that parents should give their children a monthly allowance because they are your children. I know that most parents want to see their children to become successful, but on the other hand they want to make their children experience the best childhood that they could possibly have. One way they could do that is by giving a monthly allowance. It does not have to be a huge sum of money or exactly every month, because most people know that with the way the economy is, there is no way that could happen. But, once the child knows that the parent is trying to help with their childhood experience. I am pretty sure they would appreciate their parents more. I am pretty sure no parent wants to hear their child ever say to them that they never was given allowance or did anything for them. I know this because my mother tells me this all of the time.

In conclusion, I believe that parents should give their children allowance monthly, not by how their children acts, or does their chores. They should give them monthly allowance because children need to someday be ready for managing their money, they cannot always be good, and they need to have a fulfilling childhood. Because of these three factors, monthly allowance should be allowed. I would know that in the far near future, I would have children and give them a monthly allowance even if it was small. Now, what would you think because I could ask anyone and they would agree that my idea of monthly allowance is the right way to think?

Semester Persuasive Essay#9: Volunteer Hours

Prompt 9: Many junior high and senior high schools around the country now require students to spend a certain number of hours doing volunteer work or community service. Some people believe that this is an excellent idea that promotes good citizenship and cultivates compassion. Others feel that forced volunteerism is not volunteerism at all. How do you feel about this issue? Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.

“How many volunteer hours does your school require you to have before you can graduate from high school?” my friend asks me. “Well you see I need 300 volunteer hours.” I reply. This is one question that I get a lot from my friends from other schools. When they ask this question, it usually gets me thinking about how it is mandatory that we get volunteer hours in order to graduate. I also start to think about how we are basically forced to volunteer our time in order for us to complete our education. I think that is plain wrong since you are not volunteering from the bottom of your heart instead you are volunteering to allow yourself to graduate. Although volunteering is a nice thing to do, I believe that we should not be forced to volunteer for our schools because it is not sincere, it makes it a duty rather than something you would want to do, and it makes you not want to volunteer in the future.

I believe that when you are volunteering for your school you are not being sincere about it. Even though there are some people who are sincere with their volunteering, most of us are not. For example, I know for sure my volunteering was not very sincere. I had volunteered at a local park, but the only reason was because my mother forced me to go and I needed the hours for my future high school. I did not even want to do the volunteering, but in the end I still had fun. But, I still was not sincere with the volunteering because I avoided some of the things I was supposed to do and dreaded having to do something with the children alone.

Being forced to volunteer at our schools makes the act of volunteering a duty rather than something that you would want to do. I simply say this because it is simply true in all of my experiences. In my experiences, every time I think about volunteering, I think about how necessary it is in my life and how it needs to be done. The point of volunteering is for you to take out time from your life and dedicate it to something that you would want to help without getting something in return. This is not what comes to my mind. Instead, I always expect a paper stating I did so many hours on this day when it comes to volunteering and that is not the way volunteering should go.

I also believe that being forced to volunteer would make you not want to volunteer in the future. I believe this because this is how I feel at the moment. Ever since my mother forced me to volunteer and the school has required for us to have a certain number of volunteer hours, I have not wanted to volunteer for anything. I did not want to feel this way, but if you were forced to do something for a certain length of time, one day you are going to realize that you do not want to continue whatever you were doing. This is exactly how I felt about the volunteering thing and I regret having mandatory volunteer hours needed because I cannot enjoy going out to volunteer on my free will.

In conclusion, I believe that the schools should not require volunteer hours. It is being forced to volunteer which makes it not volunteering at all because you are not sincere and you would see it as a duty rather than something fun. It also lowers your chances of wanting to volunteer in the future because you would always remember that you were forced to volunteer just to graduate from high school. Now this is what I think about required volunteer hours. What are your thoughts about this? Am I right or am I wrong?

"Setting As The World"

The morning before school.
The bright blue walls,
The warm heat coming from the heater,
The smell of waffles and syrup in the air,
The sound of my sibilings chatter.

Iron my clothes in the dining room.
The ironing board is blue and is close to my face.
I feel so dizzy, why is that?
"Momma I don't feel good." I say,
Next thing I knew I see nothing.

Wake up to see I am in the living room.
The coach feels so cold despite the hot air,
It is dark, no light overhead,
I hear voices,
My mom called 911. I must of fainted.
"No!" I did not want to be a bother.

The sounds of cars outside,
Firefighters enter my house,
All I see is their yellow coats,
They filled into my living room,
It was the morning before school.

Semester Essay 8: Prompt 22

Prompt 22: Carpooling, recycling and planting trees are all activities that are good for the environment. Write an essay convincing readers to actively participate in one of these activities.

There are many things that you can do in your neighborhood that can be considered fun. You could go to the movies with your friends, go to an amusement park, go to the park, or even go to the museum. Even though these are some very nice things to do, there is something that you could do that would help the environment and would help you as a person. This thing that I am talking about is a little thing called planting trees. Although this may seem very boring, I believe that everyone should start planting trees because it helps the environment, helps you become responsible as a person, and could provide for something handy in the future.

I believe that you should plant a tree because it helps the environment out. By planting a tree, you would be making the environment greener and would be allowing more oxygen in the air. The planted trees would add on to all the other green plants in our environment and would make the city more alive with nature. It would make the world more natural and nature like, like it should be. Since we exchange air with plants, if we plant a tree, we would be doing a favor for us and the plant and we would rely on each other to stay alive.

Planting a tree also helps you become more responsible as a person. Since you plant the tree, you would have to make sure that the plant has all of the tender love and care that it is allowed to get. You would have to make sure it does not die and grows to bear some fruit, if it is a fruit tree that you have planted. Since you would have to look after the planted tree, you would grow some skills in responsibility because no one but yourself would take care of your responsibility (unless you have a gardener that comes every day to your house.)

Planting a tree also has other benefits. Once the tree you have planted is grown big enough, you might be able to sit under it for shade on a hot day, have a picnic right underneath the tree, or even collect the fruit from the tree. Now, if you never have planted that tree in the first place, you might not have shade, a place to picnic, or a source of fresh fruit. See, that is why you should do the simple, environmental act of planting a harmless tree.

In conclusion you should go and plant a tree. Planting trees could help the environment, make you more responsible, and could prove handy once it has grown to full capacity. Planting a tree is simple and very environmental and you should do it so that one day you can have that nice mango and be able to say that you were responsible for that tree that produced it. So, what do you think about planting a tree right now? Do you feel like helping your environment out? Please say yes because if you do not a person could lose some oxygen because you did not plant a tree!

Semester Persuasive Essay#7

Prompt 27: For centuries, people have wondered about the possibility of life on other planets in the universe. Do you believe extraterrestrial life exists? Write an essay persuading others to share your point of view.

Have you ever thought that the movie E.T. was based on real occurrences instead of just a fictional story line? Have you ever believed that there were ever such things as unidentified flying objects, or UFO’s, just because the government showed real live videos of supposedly UFO’s? Or maybe perhaps you have actually seen some disk like thing in the air and everyone else agreed with you that it was an UFO’s?  How about how the government finds all these things that give evidence that there is water on other planets meaning there should be life? Although there may seem evidence that extraterrestrial life exists on other planets and that they visit our planet, I believe that extraterrestrial life does not exists because only Earth  has the capacity to bring life to things, there is no creature smarter than the human, and because extraterrestrials are fictional.

I believe that Earth is the only place to hold life because God made it that way. If He really wanted to make some other planet to be inhabited he would have. But the thing is that He did not! Just because He made some other planets does not mean that there would be life on the other planets, especially in the sense of extraterrestrials. Earth is the perfect choice and location, so why would he make any other planet hold life when he has the most beautiful Earth that he created? That is why he did not make others that would just fail the requirements for perfection.

I also believe that there is no creature that is smarter than a human. Let us look at all of the creatures on planet Earth. Even though all the creatures have a way of communicating with each other through sounds, we have a better way of communicating. We are able to think things out and make up different ideas like a satellite or a way to study a piece of bacteria or maybe even how to creating medicines. No creatures on Earth besides humans can do that. I do not care if you have heard that extraterrestrials are supposedly higher in knowledge than humans. In my mind, nothing is greater than the human mind, except God, so how is it possible for there to be an extraterrestrial when the supposedly higher “beings” cannot exceed the knowledge of humans.

I also believe that extraterrestrials are purely fictional. If you think that UFO’s are actually unidentified, I believe that you are missing the big picture. I believe the government probably wants us to believe in extraterrestrials, so that if they do something wrong, then they could blame it on the supernatural. If it was made up from the government, then that just tells me that extraterrestrials are real if water can mix with water (it cannot by the way). They are just like another grim fairy tale in a scientific story book.

In conclusion, I believe that extraterrestrial life does not exist. They do not exist because only Earth holds life, no creature is smarter than a human, and because they are purely fictional because of the government. It makes sense to me that an extraterrestrial life would not, does not exist. Do you still believe in them or do you need some more convincing?

Cats and Dogs

Have you ever had a cat as a pet? Or perhaps maybe you have had a dog as a pet? Maybe you have had both a cat and a dog, but not at the same time or maybe you have had them at the same time, like I have had in both situations? NO matter what way you have had it, if you had both pets, you know definitely that each animal is distinctively different than each other. You would also notice that even though they are two different types of species, they have a number of similarities.

First things first, cats and dogs are alike because they both have four legs, a tail or no tail, some fur (long or short), they cry for their food, they fight with their own species and other species, and they could be either house pets or outdoor pets. Most people may think that these observations may only be physical wise, they are also mentally too. Both cats and dogs can find their way back to their owner’s house. They also could be taught many tricks like jumping through hoops and such.

Cats and dogs are different in their own ways. Dogs tend to be more of a guard while a cat might leave the house unprotected. Cats find their own way to dispose of their feces while dogs have to be trained to. Dogs have to be keep on a leash when at parks whereas with a cat you would not even need it.

In conclusion there are many comparisons and contrasts between cats and dogs. Cats and dogs share features that are similar to one another while a cat may roam around while a dog must stay on a leash. I can see these similarities and differences between the two animals but to me they are all the same, animals. Do you feel the same?

Dressing Formally vs. Dressing Informally

Have you ever been to a funeral, been to a wedding, had a business meeting, or went to church? Have you ever hung out with your friends at their house just to watch a couple of movies? You are probably wondering why I am asking you these pointless questions because you have been to one or more of these things. It is not pointless because if you notice, if you were to go to any of these events, you would have to dress differently. If you went to a wedding you would have to dress formally, but if you were going over your friend’s house, you would dress informally. I am going to tell you the differences between the two of these dressing occasions.

If you were to go to a wedding, you would need to look as nice as you can. You would not want to go there in some jeans and a polo shirt because people would look at you weird. When you go to these types of events, you should dress formal because you want to look serious. You would not dress formal just to watch movies on your couch with your friend, you would dress informally. When you dress informally, you can dress as laid back as you can. If you were at home you could even dress in sweatpants. You are not serious and it would not really hurt you if you fell and got dirt in your informal clothes.

In conclusion dressing informally and dressing formally has its differences. When you dress formally you might be going to a wedding and you need to look nice and serious. When you dress informally you might go over a friend’s house and you could be as relaxed as possible. So remember next time you go to a wedding, do not dress informally.

Raw vs. Cooked Foods

There are many different types of food that we eat every day. You could eat fish, sushi, chicken, vegan food, and many other foods. There are so many different types of foods, that if I tried to place them all into different types of groups, it would take forever. Even though that may be virtually impossible because there are so many different foods, there is something in common that all of the foods have. They either belong to the cooked food group that you eat or the raw food group that you eat.

Since there are now two different groups that I could focus on, I could tell you how some of the cooked food and raw food are alike and how some are different. First of all, I would like to say that not all raw food and not all cooked food taste good. For example, liver is cooked and it is nasty and raw celery is nasty. With that similarity, raw and cooked foods both could be eaten and would taste slightly different if the raw food was cooked and the cooked food was left raw. The difference between the two is that raw food does not require any cooking while cooked food does. The other difference is that you might need to reheat cooked food if you brought it for lunch at school while you could eat raw food right away.

In conclusion, raw foods and cooked foods have their similarities and differences. Raw foods are not cooked and cooked food is not raw. They are both similar because they are food. Which one would you prefer to eat?

Spicy vs. Sweet Foods

There are many different types of foods out there that are either spicy, sweet or a little in between. Some sweet foods mostly range in the dessert section, but there are some things, like chicken, that can be sweet. Some spicy foods could be some Mexican food or maybe even be eating a chip that is specially made to be spicy, like Doritos. No matter which way you look at it, there will always be spicy foods and sweet foods. The thing is spicy foods and sweet foods have both similarities and differences.

The first similarity is obvious because they are both foods and the second similarity is that you could eat them. These similarities are obvious just like how the differences are. The differences are that spicy foods are generally hot and they cause me to want some water or something to drink so the burning feeling would go away. Sweet foods are different because they taste sweet and they hit the sweet taste bud on your tongue. I personally like sweet foods better than spicy foods.

In conclusion, sweet foods and spicy foods have their differences in taste and their similarities. Spicy foods are spicy while sweet foods are sweet and that is pretty much all you can say about them. Which one would you prefer to eat?

Weather and Your Mood

What is the first thing you do when you feel the sun shining outside? Do you decide that since it is summer, you want to throw a swimming pool party and barbeque some ribs or something? Or do you go out with your friends to hang out because you feel happy? Believe it or not, the weather affects your mood in many ways and can cause you to do certain things. I know this from firsthand experience and you probably have too, but you just have not noticed it.

I remember one day it was very very cold and I was on my way to school. By the time that I had got there, my hands felt frozen, but not to the point that I would get frost-bite. They were so cold that when I got to my first class of the day, I had to take about thirty minutes for my hand to feel alright enough when I wrote notes with my pencil and it was pretty irritating. The rest of the day was so cold that when I got home it had began to rain and I just sat down on my bed with a big blanket wrapped around me. While listening to the rain, I found myself falling asleep because I was warm and the rain sang me to sleep. This story shows me that since it was raining and very cold it made my mood change from irritated to sleepy. It also showed me that the weather had affected my mood.

Public Schooling vs. Homeschooling

How would you like it if you were homeschooled and you were suddenly switched to public school? Now how would you feel if you got your education from a public schooling system and then you were suddenly switched to homeschooling? If I were you, I would be either mad or a little frightened for both ways because unfortunately for me, I have been in this situation. I was first taught in a public school from Kindergarten to second grade. Then my mother pulled me, along with my siblings, into being homeschooled for two whole grades. Then my mother decided to place all of us back into public schooling, so I was then in the public system to the present day. You may think that homeschooling and public schooling are different, they are but they still have their similarities.

When I was homeschooled, it was a bit different. First off, I only got to see my siblings every day, meaning that I had no friends that I could communicate with. Second, we got to go to other people’s houses for extra things that they didn’t have at my old school, like sewing. Third, we did not have any school on Friday, so we were allowed to relax that day. Fourth, we did not have any physical education system besides being able to run around our backyard. Finally, we had to make a homemade lunch every day because our mother did not buy any fast food for us to eat.

When I was in public schooling things were different than at home. I had school every day of the week unless there was a holiday. I had chances to reacquaint myself with my old friends and made new friends with other people and I barely saw my younger brother who was at my school. I got to have physical education with my teachers. I also got the school lunch from the lunch served from the school. What it did not have was extra activities like sewing.

Though they both have their differences, there were still things that were similar. First off, I still had to do my school work either way. If I did not do it, I was punished (which never happened). I still had a teacher, in homeschooling it was my mom and in public schooling it was the teacher.  We still had field trips. And I still had fun learning even though when I was in homeschooling, I did not like being isolated.

In conclusion, homeschooling and public schooling has its differences and its similarities. In some cases I was able to get off of school on Fridays and in others I was able to communicate and have fun with my friends. Which one would you prefer?

Semester Persuasive Essay #6: United States Best Country?

Prompt 34. Many people immigrate to the United States because they believe that it is better than their native country. In fact, many people believe that the United States is the best country in the world. Do you agree? Why or why not?

     

There are many people who believe that the United States is a better place to live. They would rather live there than their own home land. They mostly do this because they might believe that the United States is the best country in the world. For me to think that the U.S. is the best country in this would make me have a lot of nationalism. Although the United States may have a better society, is very popular, and has inevitable rights, I believe that the United States is not the best country in the world because I believe that no country is better than the rest since every country has their problems.

I believe that the United States is not the best country in the world because it has too many problems. It does not have so many problems to make it the worst country in the world, but it has enough to not make it a great country, but a good country. In fact, the world is full of good countries in the world. Some of these countries include England, China, Japan, Canada, and Russia. They all have their problems that make them not good enough to be a great country. In fact, I do not think that there is ever going to be a great country simply because of the fact that each and every country has its problems.

The United States has a major problem with its money. I mean look at it! We are in debt so far back that it would take us to the day that the world ends to finish paying off of the debt. I believe that this is one of the major problems with the United States that make it not be the best country in the world. In order for us to pay off this debt, we should stop borrowing money from other countries. That way we could at least become a better country than we are now and we would have one less problem in our way from being the best country.

The United States would never be the best country in the world also because we still have not gotten over racism. Even though we are no longer segregated in the south, we still have many problems. For example, let us look our president Barack Obama. Many White people blame him for everything bad going on in our country. First of all he is just one person and he has to look over the whole country. Second of all, the problems that they blame him for were problems that persisted with all the other presidents, so it is nothing new. I see that as racism because now that there is a Black president, they basically want to blame him for global warming. I believe that if there is racism in any country, there would never be the best country and this applies to the United States.

In conclusion, I believe that the United States is not the best country in the world because of its problems. Even though it has a lot of appealing things to it, I believe that it would never be the best because there is racism, debt, and has too many problems. There is no country that is great, only good. So, do you see now what I see? Because if you do not see that the U.S. is only a good country, then you are missing the big picture.

Understanding vs. Knowledge

What two things come to your mind when you hear or see the word knowledge? Do you think of a big pile of books and a brain like I do? How about what comes to your mind when you hear or see the word understanding? Do you think of a giant, green, check mark like I do? If you think like I do, I can tell you that I really do not know what the real meaning of both of these words, but it is what I seem to understand. Even though they may seem just alike, understanding and knowledge are two different concepts.

Knowledge I like what you know and what you could learn. No one can take away any of your knowledge unless you give it away. You can learn what it is and you could keep it in your brain for safe keeping. Understanding is a concept where you finally get what the person is talking about. You could understand what it is and that is what I mean by the big green check mark. It is a check for yes as in yes I understand. Understanding is also having empathy for a person because you understand what the person is going through because you were in a similar situation. One thing you can do with understanding is understand the knowledge that you let in your brain. These terms go hand in hand with each other.

In conclusion, understanding and knowledge are different by are used together. Knowledge has to do with what you know and understanding is how well you get the concepts. For knowledge though, you have to understand it so the terms go together. What do you think about understanding and knowledge?