Have you ever encountered an absolutely gorgeous, charismatic hunk-of-man who, upon meeting him for the first time, had you convinced every move you'd made in your life, up to that point, led you directly to him? Did you feel strangely alive at the time; nevertheless fearing you might die because you suddenly forgot how to inhale, becoming light-headed due to a lack of oxygen? Initially, you probably fell into a state of panic as your eyes grew wide and your heart pounded painfully in your chest, but just in the knick of time you suddenly remembered you could breathe all on your own. In the days that followed, did you diligently fill every waking moment of your day with thoughts of him, reliving every second of the magic, never wanting to…
I have been watching Survivor ever since I can remember. Every Wednesday night my family and I will sit down and watch survivor together. Throughout the years of watching it I have learned many valuable life lessons. Ranging from loyalty all the way to general survival tips and these are some of the most valuable ones. All's fair in a game Survivor has taught me that all is fair in a game.…
A Hero's Journey The last month of summer before my junior year started was occupied with pondering and wondering what I wanted to accomplish during the upcoming school year. Sure, junior year sounds like a blast, filled with fun memories and friends. But it also doubles as approaching the cliff of adulthood that I would hit in two short years. Every step I take my junior and senior year will be one step closer to that ledge.…
How to survive JR.HIGH Welcome to what people say the horrible time of your life. Jr. high is hectic so much more homework that you're not used to if you begin middle school you're more used to the elementary homework. Get prepared amigo for a lot of traumatic stuff to happen in your life. Hope you’re good at preparation because I am not only sometimes I am good at preparation. The good thing is you get a bit of freedom in JR.High…
She wasn’t acting like herself anymore. It was almost as if it was her daily routine to act as if she was in pain, which she was. It was a long, unusual problem that my dog Gizzie was in a different state of mind, so our family knew what we had to do. It was hard to understand at first, how a dog that’s been around my whole life would be gone the next day. Lying in my bed and thinking about all of the memories, like the snow days when you could see her little paws imprinted into the ground.…
I once knew a boy named William. He came from a rundown neighborhood full of violence, gangs and drugs. When his mother was pregnant with him, his father left. Unfortunately, William never met his father. His mother works two jobs to support the two of them.…
The Sunday after Thanksgiving, I rather spontaneously---or perhaps, I’d like to think, by the work of the Holy Spirit---got on a night bus and went to church. I arrived at St. Mark’s Cathedral to a contemplative Eucharist in their beautiful chapel. It was soft and lovely and quiet. I love the quiet. I sought it out when I came to college in Seattle, living in “the big city” for the first time this fall, more than a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of people everywhere.…
A few weeks to a month before she died, she had gotten really bad, so we dropped everything and went to her. I remember getting there and looking at her and she still had a smile on her face knowing we were there. The doctors were preparing her for surgery, but they said it was going to be difficult. She was going to surgery because she had broken her hip.…
Who’s Funeral? As the beautiful day came to an end, the night fall came with and when it came the mist from the swamp came through surrounding everything near impossible to see. Everything dark, mere pitch black but only the light of the mansion that lied there peaked from the blanket of shadows you were suffocated in. The lights start to draw you in, no where else to go, you come closer seeing a path to the two big doors ahead.…
1. Why did you choose the event you did? I choose the remembered event of my Brother’s death because it is by far the most explicitly vivid image in my mind. I also found that putting my thoughts on paper was some way therapeutic to what I have been carrying around for the last 15 years.…
The surgeons assistant, in a chatty mood and already donning cerulean scrubs, hastily leads me down the 7th floor hallway lined with unoccupied stretchers, past two sets of imposing doors into the nurses' break area leading to the locker rooms. The contrast between the sterile North Wing of UMMC and the rest of the medical center, which resembled the local mall begins to affect me immediately. Pulling on the one-size-fits-all uniform, I feel like I'm infiltrating a funeral home, and though I have been anticipating sitting in on the operation for weeks now, stepping into the ward- which is buzzing with activity as I stand by- seems as appetizing as watching a mortician butcher the thoracic cavity of some unfortunate soul. The room chills me…
M.N. is one of my closest friends. I have know her since she was little. She was very friendly to anyone, and that is why she became my close friend and why my family consider her as part of ours as well. Last week, I found out that the lump on her leg has leaked and she developed sepsis. There was no other choice but to let her go, and due to circumstances, I was not able to even see her and say goodbye to her.…
A few weeks later we drove to the cemetery to visit your wife. The narrow road to her grave was blocked by people and cars for a funeral. There was one particular car that was blocking the whole road. The car was running with people in it and the driver was talking to a man standing next to the car. The man was crying.…
Road Trips Starting in Chester County and snaking its way through the continental US, our family van would make frequent stops at gas stations with odd exteriors and restaurants that claimed to have the largest steak in Texas. We’re natural tourists. All things campy, tacky, and over priced, our family has picked up as souvenirs. Acleptic items were always the first to come out of the suitcase raving home. Singing santas, seashells with googly eyes pasted on, anything and everything my grandmother would threaten to throw away upon seeing it.…
I just stood there petting her and continued to tell her that I loved her and I that I was sorry. The last thing I remember seeing was her looking at me and making a soft meowing sound before she closed her eyes for the last time. I knew I was crying at that point and when I felt her stop moving. I felt so much grief…