Maine

If I could live anywhere I would live near the Atlantic Ocean in Maine. I have gone to Maine before, and I adored every detail with my young eyes wide open in awe. Maine is heaven to me. It is full of trees of all different kinds as well as having my favorite type of weather. I love cool, winter weather, but I also enjoy watching the leaves change during fall. The ocean would bring a cool, salty breeze to my home, and during the summer I could go swimming. Because I would be located right next to the ocean, I would be able to buy or fish for fresh seafood everyday. As a child I remembered all the residents being quiet and polite. The rainy weather would keep me inside most of my days, though I would love visiting friends. The rain also means I would have time for myself to draw and nap inside my home. Being near the ocean also means I could go on ships to sail to different countries on whim if I really wanted to. Maine is where I would want to live if I could live anywhere in the world. It seems so perfect to me that I would not change a thing.

Top left: boats in the bay. Top right: Kennebunkport
Bottom left: Little me on the beach. Bottom right: My dad on my favorite beach in Maine

If Money Were No Object

Everyone deserves to be happy. One's friends should make one smile, one's family should support them, and one's career should make them jump out of bed in the morning. Without happiness, life becomes stale and lifeless. Everyday is spent walking like a zombie, and it does not get better. If one goes into a career that they are passionate about, they would thrive. The world progresses not from the little boy that dreams of being an astronomer and becomes an accountant, but from the boy that becomes an astronomer and puts his all into it. This world needs the dreamers that go after those dreams. Success should not be measured by the amount of money one makes in one’s life, but how much they enjoy the time spent creating, discovering, and helping. I would enjoy my time most by spending it drawing to my heart’s content. It is what I love most, and I never want to stop. If one does what they love, one can never say their life was not well spent.

The Hunger Games

My favorite book would be the Hunger Games. A new government has formed in this world, and it holds the hunger games each year in which one boy and one girl are chosen from each of the 12 districts to compete in a fight to the death. The Hunger Games centers around a teenage girl named Katniss, who volunteers in place of her younger sister who was chosen. Katniss must try her hardest to survive because her mother cannot properly take care of her younger sister, and has no way to earn money to buy food. In these games there are 24 kids who must survive on their own, and kill the others to survive. The last one alive wins, and gets sent back to their original district to live. The games are held each year as punishment for district 13's revolt against the government, which ended in district 13 being bombed and destroyed. The Hunger Games is by Suzanne Collins, who lives in Sandy Hook, Connecticut and has a husband and two children. This story made me realize how precious life is, and how not everyone has all the necessary materials to survive. Everyday is a fight to survive, and one must fight if they want to continue their life.

After Apple Picking

If money were no object, would everyone go after their dreams? Each generation teaches the next that to succeed in life they must make more money than is necessary. Because each generation is taught this, most adults find jobs that do not make them happy. This subject is the theme for Robert Frost’s “After Apple Picking”. Through the use of imagery, Frost conveys a message of boredom with repetition through well known sights, sounds, and feelings and regret for not pursuing one’s true desires in life.

As appealing as a profession may seem, one must love it to have the desire to continue it for the rest of one’s life. Frost states in “After Apple Picking”, “Magnified apples appear and disappear/ Stem end and blossom end/ Every fleck of russet showing clear” (l. 18-20). Every detail is clear, passing by the speaker who no longer seems to be amazed by these sights as they once were. Throughout one’s life, every detail should remain clear and astounding. One should never become bored or uninterested in what they do.

One may regret spending one’s whole life doing monotonous work with no satisfaction and little reward. Frost states, “My instep arch not only keeps the ache/ It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round/ I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend/ And I keep hearing from the cellar bin/ The rumbling sound/ Of load on load of apples coming in” (l. 21-26). These lines talk about feeling and sounds that are all too well known to the speaker. Every action is now a pain to the speaker because the speaker has been apple picking so long. One should do work they will always love and never become bored of.

Frost means to say that one should do what they love, and ignore the money to be made in that profession. If one does what they are good at and they love, one will be happy with their lot in life. For example, I want to be an artist. Art is what truly makes me happy and it is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Frost uses imagery to show how tiring a hated job can be if one does not love it, and encourages readers to not make the same mistake the speaker did.

Aaaaaaad    /essay.

Biting is a No No

If I could change one thing that has happened previously in my life I would change the day in fifth grade that I bit a girl named Deliah. This would be the only thing I would change because every other event in my life has shaped me to be who I am today, and I do not want to risk changing me for the worse. During lunch one day in fifth grade I sat next to my neighbor Deliah. I cannot remember why I bit her, but I remember leaning over and biting her arm. She started crying and so did I. We left the lunch room to go to lunch, and our teacher spotted me with glorious snot running down my bright red face and asked what was wrong. Because I did not want to get into any more trouble, I told her everything. I was sent to the office where I cried for another 45 minutes. Eventually when everything was said and done, I avoided any real trouble. My principal knew me and my family, and knew that it would not happen again. This event was like a shadow following me around for the next three years. Guilt weighted me down just thinking about it. If I had not bit Deliah, she would probably turn out much the same as she is today. On the other hand, if I had behaved myself I would have more peace of mind. Looking back now I think it was a childish thing for me to do, and I would gladly take it back if given the chance. 

How I Waste My Time

I would like to say that my favorite hobby would be drawing, biking, or something more productive. The truth is that my favorite hobby would be sitting on the computer, wasting my life away. I do not do anything to contribute to the modern culture we call the internet; I am merely an observer of it's antics. Because I need something to keep my attention during this time, I tend to gravitate towards the more entertaining parts of the internet. I browse websites with hilarious pictures, websites that share original artwork made by unknown artists, websites that are a community of people who care for each other, and websites that just contain seemingly random pictures that I share for no clear reason. Even with the amount of time that I spend in front of my screen, I am still oblivious to most of the news that occurs in the real world. I am only aware of political, scientific, or social news if it causes such uproar that it invades my sanctum of fun. Although it may not be a productive or fulfilling hobby, it is one that I love all the same. Would that really be considered a waste of time then? It depends on the day, I think.

Mumford and Sons

My favorite genre of music is difficult to pin down. I listen to anything from screamo to dubstep to rock. Although my music taste varies, I would have to say my favorite band would be Mumford and Sons. Mumford and Sons are a folk rock band in which the band members use guitars, banjos, piano, upright basses, mandolins and other instruments. They put so much passion and emotion into their songs that I always get lost in them. More than once I have been caught singing along wholeheartedly and dancing to my embarrassment  One of my favorite things about this band is that they use lines and ideas from other writers and philosophers in their music. Whether it be a song about a lost lover, finding one's own true happiness, or exploring the world and keeping an open mind I can always relate to their lyrics. The raw power in the main singer's voice accompanied with the rhythmic instruments gives me chills every time without fail. Mumford and Sons never cease to touch me or astound me with their music.

The Cave

White Blank Page

Winter Winds

Liar

These are just my personal favorites. Between these four I would not be able to pick a favorite as I love each of them in their own way, so I figured that posting all of them would do the trick.