There and Back Again- the Hobbit Essay 20-4-2012

Bilbo Baggins was an ordinary hobbit. Or was he? The novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is the story, not just of a hobbit going on an adventure with some dwarves, but of a hobbit going to find himself in the world. The hobbit that Bilbo found himself to be, was not a timid, lazy hobbit, but a brave, resourceful hobbit with a new understanding of life and gratefulness.

Bilbo’s bravery was never just there. He learned to be brave by pushing himself even if he thought all hope was lost. Countless times Mr. Baggins wished to be back in his hobbit hole with a warm fire and mountains of food, but he kept on moving. Why would he do this? Why didn’t he just give up? The answer is simple. He knew that the dwarves and Gandalf needed him. He helped them escaping giant spiders and elves. He went to face the terrible Smaug alone. All of this, just to help a few dwarves complete a quest.

    Facing these situations, Bilbo also needed something else: resourcefulness. Facing the spiders he used the ring to make himself invisible and used his knowledge of spiders to lure them away from his friends. Also when facing Smaug, he used the ring and stole a goblet, but to distract Smaug, he used riddles. When escaping from the wood elves, Bilbo used barrels! This adventure made Bilbo use his head and the resources he had to complete the journey.

    Up until the end, the dwarves and Bilbo faced hard times, such as no food, no water, or shelter. Most basic needs at some point in their journey were gone. When Bilbo made it back to his little hobbit hole in bag end, he appreciated what he had  more than when he left. His abundance of food and warm, cozy bed were luxurious compared to the harsh conditions in which he lived the months of the journey.

 Bilbo Baggins was an ordinary hobbit, but he did not stay that way. He learned that life is not all about food and luxurious nights in his hobbit hole. On his journey with the 13 dwarves and Gandalf the wizard, Bilbo found he was smarter and more capable of great things than he ever imagined.

-ES

Papa- Essay 9-5-2012

The longer a person is gone from this world, the more we begin to forget. We forget how they sound, how they act, and maybe even what they look like. My grandfather died almost 4 years ago, and I’m already starting to forget. I do remember some though.
 
He had short, white/silver hair that lay in a sort of comb-over on his head. His pale features we’re calloused and weathered from long, hard days in the coal mines and working outside. His face had laugh lines slightly hidden by wrinkles, but still visible. He was tall and thin, but not very muscular. Every day he wore jean with a flannel shirt and an old t-shirt underneath. Only on Sundays or holidays would he trade in his ratty work clothes for a suit and tie, pressed to perfection. Of course, he wasn’t one to care about perfections. He spoke with a Pennsylvanian accent and a bit of improper grammar that came with the slang of his childhood. He would start using polish words in the middle of a complete English sentence just to make you think about the meaning. He was a child at heart. He would always be telling a joke, or messing with someone just for fun.
 
I remember as a small child, between the ages of 3 and 5, living in Florida, and being so far away from my grandparents. Once every year or two they would come to visit, and every time you could count on seeing My grandfather in the driver’s seat saying in this matter-of-fact voice to my grandmother that he wasn’t lost, and that he’d gotten them there on time. The years they didn’t come visit us, we would visit them. We would always head up around Christmas so I could get my presents and could play in the snow. My grandfather would always help me build a snowman then rush me inside to get the hot chocolate that would be waiting for us.
 
After I turned 5, my father retired from the Air Force meaning we could live where we’d like. We moved to Pennsylvania about 7 minutes away from my grandparents. Because we lived so close, I was able to see them a lot more. I would go to their house on the weekends, and on days when my mother worked but I did not have to go to school for some reason or another. In the mornings, my grandfather and I would watch Loony Tunes and Tom and Jerry marathons together. Well, more like I would watch the marathons and he would fall asleep in his old, blue, felt recliner, leaving me to wake him up repeatedly. He enjoyed the shows though. If he was awake, he would tell me stories about the characters, or give Tom and Jerry voices as they endlessly chased each other around and around.
 
This is what I most remember about my grandfather. He died July 3, 2008 from brain cancer, which originated in his lungs. Even with the sickness he had, he still found time to have fun and joke around. The only signs of his sickness were the physical features on him. His hair thinned and his muscles depleted, he looked like a very weak and ill man, but his spirit and heart or youth kept him alive long enough to see my brother, his grandson, be born and grow for a few years before passing away. We all miss him, and he will forever e in our hearts and minds.

-ES

Christmas Wish- Essay 21-11-11

During the Christmas season, everyone will say, “Remember the troops!” or right now people will say, “Remember Joe Paterno!” and that’s a good thing. We should remember them. But we’re also missing a few people. We think about those who can’t come home to their families or those who are in tight situations, but what about those who don’t have families to come home to? We all should remember them as well. Those people, are the people my Christmas Wish goes out to.

My wish specifically is that the people who don’t have any family can still have a happy Christmas with friends. I wish that they can have friends who care enough about them to cheer them up and welcome them as if they themselves were family. There is a simple reason to why I chose them for my wish. It’s because they don’t have anyone and need a little happiness, especially now. Christmas is a time of love and giving, and I think these are the people that deserve a lot of it.

-ES

Erica- Narrative 24-5-2012

Erica was just a 17 year old girl from a small town. It was a plain and ordinary enough town, with a newspaper press, a convenience store and all the other necessities. It had an eerie feeling about it, however, and everyone seemed to have something to hide, including her. What was this secret of hers you ask? Well that’s what I’m here to tell.
 
It all started out on a boring summer day. Erica was walking through the park when she ran into a boy from her school. He was quite average but he developed a liking towards him throughout the year. Today, they started walking together throughout the park and talking about what they wanted to do with their summer. Then out of nowhere, the boy asked if she would meet him that night by an old abandoned house just outside of town. Erica agreed and said her farewells as it was nearing dusk and she needed to get home.
That night, as she said she would, Erica snuck out of her house and met the boy just outside of town. He led her inside and gave her a tour of the house, saying that he goes there often to be alone because no one bothers to check around there. Once the tour was done, the boy let Erica go exploring.  She came to the bedroom and found that the bed was made perfectly, but the sheets were clean unlike everything else that was covered in dust and cobwebs. She sat down and called to the boy to come upstairs.
 
Once the boy came up, he sat down on the bed with Erica and told her that he had feelings for her. She confessed she did too and so they decided to go out. They kissed and did some things they probably shouldn’t have.  They had a fun night, free of worry and fault. But it’s too bad they never got to tell anyone about it. Around 2 AM the police were called because someone heard a shot go off by the abandoned house. When the police arrived, all that was there were the guy and the girl, still on the bed, dead.

-ES

Just Another Day for Another Girl in Another School- Narative Essay 1-7-2012

Love is a complicated thing, mysterious even. No one knows why it’s there, or how it gets there. We just know it exists. For some, it’s a very wonderful thing. Still others find it heart-wrenching.  However you view it, it always has some meaning to you. There are many stories out there telling of heart breaks and star-crossed lovers, but here the story is different. It’s not of just the heart break or the happiness, but of the mystery behind every story.
 
The girl was from a small town, and I mean very small. It was basically a cluster of about ten houses and one main road.  She always had few friends she could count on, and the rest would leave her at some point. She was nothing special. Her curly, frizzy, blonde hair was always pulled up or skillfully destroyed in the morning with a flat iron. She was very pale and average size. Her wardrobe consisted of jeans and some tomboy t-shirt with a hoodie, even in the summer. Her taste of music was, but not limited to: metal, rock, some slower songs, and a bit of country here and there. The only thing she saw about herself that was worth noticing, were her eyes. They would always change, from a light blue, to a paralyzing green, reverting to a dull but stormy grey. But no matter how many times they changed their color, there was one spot in her right eye that would always stay a rusty reddish-brown. No one could tell her why it was there. Her parents’ eyes did not have this, nor did their parents or theirs before them. All she knew was that she had it, and was proud of it.

She had just finished middle school, so she was on her way up there in her vision. Her school only had grades Pre K- 8, so she was moving to a new school next year. (The school was a bit large for her. The high school and middle school wings were about as big as the entire building of her old school, not to mention adding on the elementary, the cafeteria, the gym, and the auditorium. All of this was spread out on one floor, not two or three, but one.) She would have to make new friends, meet new teachers, and try to get along with people; a.k.a. her worst nightmare. Her courses were already filled out and scheduled and the tuition was paid. There was nothing stopping this now.
 
She did find one upside to this new school, though. There was a boy. He was cute, with dirty blond hair that he put up in a spike. He was taller and a bit chubby, but she didn’t mind. He wore cut off jeans and an open, plaid, button up shirt with a white undershirt.  He was tan but not too dark, just enough to notice. The best part, was that he lived five minutes away from her small little town.  She met him while she was touring the school and signing up for her classes. She instantly felt a connection of some sort towards him, but she wasn’t sure quite what.
 
During the remaining summer, the girl went to the boy’s house a lot. They rode fourwheelers and dirt bikes together, and swung on the rope swings beside his house. The girl’s aunt would also hang out with them since she was only 16 (tuning 17 in the coming October). The three of them had a lot of fun and made great memories together, but that would all change. Soon the girl felt she was being neglected by the boy, like he wanted to hang out with her aunt more than her. She was heart-broken and started resenting her aunt from then on until the end of the summer when school started.
 
Now you would think with school starting everything would be worse with the stress of work and seeing the boy every day, but it wasn’t. Everything got better actually. She made 2 new friends the first and second days. Added to the 3 friends that came to the new school with her, she had a nice little group of friends to keep her going. Then there was that day, that third day of being in school changed her life.
 
The past two days seemed relatively short for the girl. Coming to a new school and making new friends didn’t take much time. Going into school that day seemed like the past two, but there was something in the air around her. It was the air of excitement and new found treasure and it glowed around her, but she couldn’t place why. It was new to her, for she never really found much excitement unless she was going out with some close friends. She walked into school feeling alive and friendly. She went to her locker and took off her hoodie. She replaced her beat up converse for the uniform ballet flats she was forced to wear and went into home room. There she found her two new friends and someone else. There was a boy with them. He was tall and a little on the bigger side (again she didn’t mind). He had dark brown, almost black hair that laid in thick, wavy curls on his head in a disheveled mess. She could only see that much of him, for he was facing away from her.
 
She immediately noticed him, but didn’t think anything of it. It was a new school, so she would always be noticing new people. She put her bag down beside her desk and walked over to say hello and give her friends the annual hugs as she was accustomed to giving. As she did so, she glanced at the boy. He was slouching and had piercing blue eyes in which you could just lose yourself in the tide of the sea. He looked like a sleepy cat, tired and lazy but always ready to pounce. Her friends introduced the girl and she suddenly felt self-conscious and shy. She couldn’t say anything! She just smiled and looked into his fathomless eyes. What was wrong with her?! She’s never been this shy around anyone, especially guys!
 
Now, since the first boy is not quite out of the picture, let’s call this new boy Mr. Bear. Since we’re giving names, we might as well name the rest of our characters. The two friends are Traveling Buddy and Bert while the first boy shall be called Travis. The girl however, shall remain nameless, for she does not need a name. There is a reason for these very specific names, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Now, it’s time to continue on with the story.
 
Throughout the day, the girl found out that she had most of her classes with Mr. Bear. They talked and she instantly clicked with him just like she did with Travis. This is why she tried not to give signs or hints that she may like Mr. Bear. She told one person at first, and that was Traveling Buddy. She had been his friend forever and she knew him better than anyone, so the girl figured that Traveling Buddy would help her out a bit. However, the girl’s new friend Bert also liked Mr. Bear. The girl was upset by this little detail. She had a feeling that the same thing that happened with Travis would happen with Mr. Bear, but this time taken by a good friend, because in her eyes, she was nothing special.
 
After a few weeks, she found she was right. Bert and Mr. Bear started dating, right after the girl finally got the courage to tell him how she felt. She found refuge in at least becoming one of his best friends. They came up with many memories and random things that she was at least content while she was with him, until he and Bert were together. She could tell that he loved her and would die for her in less than the smallest fraction of a heartbeat. She broke after one day she walked out with them and she saw them kiss for the first time in the past few weeks they had been dating. She bawled endlessly on a Skype call with Traveling Buddy who tried but failed to console one of her new, but best friends. The girl (not Travelling Buddy) resorted to different methods of consolation. She tried just about everything from the therapeutic methods to the more violent and harmful methods. She was tortured by their love though she was happy for Mr. Bear for finding what he said was “the girl of his dreams and more”.
 
After a few more weeks, she came out of her third period class (which she had without any of her friends) to see Bert in tears. Immediately the girl ran to help and calm down her broken down friend. The girl asked Bert what was wrong and she was told the most amazing yet devastating news she could ever hear. She and Mr. Bear were no longer a couple. Bert had broken up with him after finding out a bit of unsettling news about Mr. Bear (which ended up not being true after all). She knew Mr. Bear would have been destroyed, for he was not the breaker, he was the broken.
 
Her next class she had with him, so after calming down Bert she practically sprinted down the halls to see Mr. Bear. He was mad. No, it was more like he was heart-broken to the point of being nothing. He looked like a boy who was soulless and murderous to the point of having no morals at all. She didn’t bother to go to console him even though it took all her being not to. She knew it wouldn’t do any good and would just make him worse, for over the last few months they had shared many secrets and details about each other that no one knew about them. They never understood why they did it, but they felt compelled to trust each other.
 
For the rest of the day, Mr. Bear fumed and had a few outbursts of uncontrollable anger. No one could blame him. He loved her more than anything and he felt like everything he lived for was just ripped away from him. Later that night, he finally talked to the girl and confided in her. She was the one he went to whenever he felt angry, not Traveling Buddy, which surprised the girl greatly. Over the next couple weeks the two would talk even more endlessly then they had before. The girl had basketball practice the first two or three months of the school year so after school the two would hang out and have fun, but one afternoon, would again change the course of her life, but for better or worse, no one knows.
 
The two walked around the school and Mr. Bear took her for a walk through the woods to see a couple cemeteries. They teased each other like always, poking, tickling, and “accidently” tripping each other. But he was strong and had long legs. He went to pretend to trip her and actually did, but luckily in mid-fall he caught her. He pulled her up into his arms so fast that she didn’t realize what was happening until it did. He kissed her. She melted into his arms and just went with it. This was what she wanted. This was what she’s been thinking about the entire year with him. Throughout the rest of that day, they kissed randomly and had fun. She had the best day of her life.
 
From that point on, they became closer, if that was even possible. After a few months they even started dating. In the girl’s eyes she was having the best year of her life. She had amazing friends (including Bert who was one of her closest believe it or not even with the tension of Mr. Bear), an amazing boyfriend that she never even dream she would have in an eternity, she was getting alright grades in school (just good enough for her parents), and everything seemed to be going in the right direction. Ironically, about a month after Mr. Bear and the girl started dating Bert had found another love. It was Travis. The two of them were perfect and loved each other.
 
Flash forward through the next two months of their relationship, they had fun just like friends. They created nicknames for each other (thus showing where Mr. Bear has come from), and barely anything had changed between Mr. Bear and the girl except that they knew they loved each other. Although, he didn’t have time to get over Bert, so he had a few break downs and doubts. The girl always was there for him, and he always ended up believing he loved the girl. But after two months, something happened. Mr. Bear couldn’t be convinced this time, and broke up with the girl. She was devastated and broke down, reverting to her old ways of which she thought she had left behind.
 
After what seemed like an eternity to the girl, but was really only about a week, he wanted her back.  She gladly took him back as her loving boyfriend. She loved him, of that she knew would never change, so she would always take him back. Another month went by, and again this happened. The girl thought it was her that kept making Mr. Bear leave her. He came back to her after a few days this time, and again she took him back, for she couldn’t be without him. A week later he wanted to leave again, but did not only because the girl had changed his mind. The girl was doubting herself now. She didn’t believe she could be enough for someone if she pushed away someone so much. Finally after another week, Mr. Bear broke up with her officially for the third time, and this time, the girl’s parents stepped in. They said they could no longer date, but could be friends. The only flaw was, she truly loved Mr. Bear, and if he came back again, she would want to take him back no matter what he’d done.
 
He did want to come back after a couple weeks. He missed her and vice-versa, but the girl’s parents wouldn’t have it. Finally the girl stood up and said that her parents could not control her. She begged them one last time before getting back with him no matter what they said. But she didn’t have to go without their permission. They actually said that they were okay with it as long as he didn’t hurt her again. And that was that. The two teenagers were together again and happy.
 
And that is the last we hear of the drama of this girl and her life, at least for now. Maybe she had more trouble ahead, but if she did, no one knows for sure. Maybe she’ll write her own story someday with more details of what occurred, but that is all up to her. For now, I am her spokesman and this is her story, for she speaks for herself. This story was not told to show the love life of one individual, but if you pay attention, you get two separate lives. This story was to show the irony and mystery of love, in all its glory and power.

-ES

Teen Suicide-Persuasive Essay 14-02-13

One in every twelve teens attempt suicide annually and it is the third leading cause of death in teens. The reason for suicide in youth varies immensely such as major disappointment, rejection, failure, or loss. Many times, these just trigger the urge of suicide, and the teen has one or maybe even more disorders. Simple things like breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend may seem small or even trivial to some people, but to those with a disorder such as depression or bi-polar disease it could be worth taking their life.

The numbers have increased dramatically over the years and it’s becoming a huge problem in our country. People are killing themselves before their life even begins and it seems like not many people care. We say that we care and that it’s a horrible thing to do, but we don’t do anything to try to stop it. We don’t put ourselves out there and say, “I’m against teen suicide, I’m going to donate to research,” or something of the sorts. We say this about cancer, AIDS, and many other diseases, why not suicide?

I, myself, have a personal experience in this matter. Some of my friends, and even I, have thought about or have attempted this. It’s traumatizing to all associates of the person, whether the person thinks anyone cares or not. They do care. No one is truly alone in this world, someone cares about them. But still, we don’t show it. We don’t look at the signs given or try to make someone’s day on a whim. Instead, we bully and hate. We joke, but harshly. We push and shove until the breaking point. Why don’t we look for the signs in our “friends”? Why do we try to push the limits that are clearly there?

Society has us “in our place”. It has us conform to be “normal” and that creates cliques. What’s normal to one person isn’t normal to everyone else. Some may share their opinions, but many won’t. Certain cliques become “popular” because they are what society views as normal. This can cause the feelings of disappointment and rejection to which adolescence, especially with a disorder, do not handle well. Many times we feel like a disappointment to someone or we are rejected in our lives, but many people cannot take it. They see everything that goes wrong as their fault because of either neglect, or harsh bullying. They may not feel loved because they are self-conscious and feel there is nothing to be proud of themselves for. So they feel that because of this, everything that goes awry or wrong in their lives, and sometimes even in others lives, is their fault. Then, because society has deemed a specific group of people who are “pretty”, “handsome”, “normal”, and “popular”, their spirits are crushed even more because they are not one of those people and they envy them. And those who are society’s “normal” will rag and tear at the people who aren’t, just showing them even more what’s apparent. Why do we do this? Why do we rag on people until they break? Why does it take the ending of so many lives for even a small group of people to realize how big of a part we play in other’s lives?

Why don’t we look for signs? It’s because we do not know them. Get to know them. Look them up and know them. They could save a person’s life someday. Why do we push the limits? It’s because we want to say we can push the limits that are there. That’s all we try to do today is push limits (physics, emotions, etc.). Why do we rag on people? For some reason, we apparently feel better when we put others down. We think that if we make them seem lower than us, it makes us bigger. In reality, we’re just pushing ourselves down too. We’re not close to the moral and potential of the individual we’re harassing and bullying. Why so many deaths? It’s because we’re an ignorant race. We believe that if it doesn’t personally affect us, we don’t need to take action about it. But we are wrong. We do need to take action. We need to step up and do whatever we can to prevent this.

In conclusion, this needs to be stopped or even just helped. We can’t just sit by and let this happen. So smile at someone, give them a hug, or be a friend when no one else is. Don’t neglect others and don’t push them down. Don’t put all the pressure on others and don’t take this lightly. Imagine if it were your best friend, your significant other, your parent or other family member. See how scared you feel? So do what you know is right. Treat others right. Help them when you see the signs and make sure they know it’s not their fault and they’re not alone. Just be a friend to them if you know they are suicidal, especially if they are a teen or even younger. Their life hasn’t even begun yet. And even if you don’t think they are suicidal, or just don’t know, don’t be hard on them. You never know if they are or aren’t thinking about ending everything.

 -ES