essay topics

School:

 

1.)   Did I ever fit into a particular group? Yes in high school my friends and I were inseparable and we would go everywhere together. We changed our schedules so we were in the same classes; we always knew where one another was, and what we were doing after school. People we went to school with would call us “lakk” because those were each of our first initials. Now that I look on it I wish that I was never apart of that, and if I had to go back and change who I hung out with I would do it in a second.

2.)   Did I ever win or lose a big sporting event? My freshman year in high school I was on the swim team and we had a pretty decent team, everyone was fairly good. We would work hard 2 times a day and really push one another. Towards the end of the season the south coast conference meet was coming up and we had to get ready for it. We knew we had a pretty good chance but the competition was going to be tough. When we got there we were overwhelmed with people and with the size of the pool room. We warmed up and all of us were extremely nervous. The meet started and we got off to a good start, we had the lead for a while but then we were tied with Brockton. It was my turn to swim an event and this event was win or lose for the team, for the conference meet. I was so nervous and I didn’t think I would be able to pull through. I won the race with a strong finish and my team was screaming and jumping. I will never forget that feeling getting out of the pool, my teammates going crazy and looking at the clock saying I came in first place.

 

Work:

 

1.)   My first job was as a lifeguard, in Rhode Island at South Shore beach. I started working there as soon as I was old enough to when I was sixteen. I currently still work there, but only in the summer. I love my job and I’ve known the beach manager for six or seven years so I can have days off and pick my hours.

2.)   Another job I had over the summer was working at a daycare as well. I loved working there, the people I worked with were my friends, and I enjoyed working with kids. Although, working there was also uncomfortable as well. This past summer me and my best friend got into a serious fight and it caused a lot of problems, we no longer talk. My boss is my ex best friends aunt so there was a lot of personal issues in the job as well, I felt that she was harsher on my then the other workers, and she would always pick out the little things that went wrong. She got mad at me a lot for no reason, so after a while I needed to approach my boss about the issue and she denied that it had anything to do with her niece and that it was how she would act towards me regardless and that she treated me just like any other. Talking to her only made matters worse and it didn’t help me out in the long run, but I did what I thought was right and I needed to stand up for myself.

 

Social Life:

 

1.)   What situation leads to my first friendship? My first real friendship started when I was in 3^rd grade and it was with a girl who lives right down the street from me. Her name is Alyssa and we were in the same class, her sister use to babysit me so we would always hang out. Alyssa was a true reliable friend who I could and can still tell anything to. She doesn’t judge a person until she knows them and that’s what makes her such a good person. We did everything together, she would come over everyday and we would just hang out and talk, my parents even “called her their other daughter.” My parents treated her as if she was their own and they genuinely loved her. Alyssa and I are still best friends to this day and we were planning on going to the same college, Framingham state. She really wanted to go there but I like Westfield more, she was pretty disappointed because even since we were little we promised we would stay together, but because she is such a good friend she understood that I had to do what I wanted.

2.)   When was the first time I drove a car? The first time I drove a car was when I was six years old. My dad and I would always drive across the street in his beat up old car and I would sit on his lap and steer. I thought that it was the coolest thing, and that my dad was the best for letting me “drive.” My dad would act as if I was getting my license soon because she would always critic me, and tell me what I was doing wrong and make me do it until I got it right.

 

Family Life:

 

1.)   Did I experience a sibling being born? Yes my sister and I are 2 years apart and I was in the hospital when my mother had her. When we were in the car to bring her home, I said “alright she’s cute, can we bring her back now?” and my mom and dad tried to explain to me that she was my sister now and that she was going to live with us. I was really young so I didn’t really understand, and I thought that I was going to be the only child for a while and that all the attention would be on me so when my little sister came into the picture I was not too happy with sharing the attention.

2.)   Did you ever have a pet? When I was around ten and my sister was eight, my dad was at work and went to go visit him and he told us he had a surprise. He went over to his truck and took out a bucket and in the bucket was a baby bunny. My dad had told us he didn’t see the bunny and almost ran it over until he saw it at the last second. My dad wanted to let the bunny go but it was too young to survive without its mother so he knew that we had to take it home and take care of it. We named the bunny princess bun bun and we took it to the vet so we could see what it needed for food and nurture. The vet told us that the bunny was not a girl, and my and my sister were very disappointed that we had to change the name to prince bun bun. We taught him how to hop, and he became more comfortable with us. The bunny grew on us and we all loved him. We kept him alive for 3 weeks when the vet told us that he wouldn’t live past 3 days. My sister and I were heart broken when we found out that he had died.

 

Activity:

Visit a place from your past, what memories or feelings are most prominent? How have my feelings about the place changed?

 

Before I came to school, I was babysitting and I took the kids to the playground at my old elementary school. This was the first time I have been to this playground since I had been out of elementary school. When I went there I was very disappointed because then had torn it down and completely re-did it. So many of my memories from recess were at that school and playground and it was depressing to see that it wasn’t the same. I was expecting to go there and go on all my favorite tire swings, wooden bridges, rope swing, and tires. They had rebuilt it because it was “unsafe” and they needed to fix it. I was upset to go back because it was just not the same, and I wasn’t able to relive my memories that I had made over the 6 year period I was there.

 

Analysis:

How did I Change?

When I was younger, I thought that everyone was invincible and that bad things only happened to other people and that they would never happen to me. I would take my parents and everyone close to me for granted. As I got old I would see people in my family and in my friend’s family, pass away. This made me realize that you have to show the people you love that you love them and let them know you care as much as you can. You never know how much time you have left with someone and when something bad can happen. 

 

When did the event or situation occur, what forces were at work?

I started to realize this when I was 12 and my aunt Betty had passed away. I never thought that bad things would happen to me or my family, and that it only happened to other people or in movies. When this event occurred it changed my whole out look on life, and how I needed to express how I feel more often.

Did I realize the significance of the event at the time?

Yes I realize the significance at the time, because I was old enough to understand. My sister didn’t, so I needed to be there for her because she was little and it was tough on her because she was confused. I knew what had taken place and it changed my perspective on life.

 

What do I see now that I didn’t see then? What did that younger person not understand?

I didn’t understand when I was younger, why people died and why they just couldn’t live forever. I was young and naieve so I didn’t know why this happened or how to explain it to my sister, But I know now obviously that it is a part of life and it happens for a reason.

 

Why was the even or situation important to me?

This situation was important because it made me look at things from a different point of view, and made me value the meaning of life and to show affection towards the ones that you love because you never know what will happen to either you or someone you care about. This event helped me to grow as a person, intellectually, and spiritually.