Essay on "A Person Who Influenced Me The Most"

My Grandma

    Have you ever imagined how your life would be different if a key person were not in it, like a mother, father, spouse, or child? Some people are so integral to making us who we are that without them, our very identity would be changed. My grandmother is a key figure in my life who has left an indelible impression on me. She is a woman of great influence because of her stability, her work ethic, and her independent spirit. 

    Grandma is the matriarch of our family. Because she has a close relationship with us and a great deal of wisdom, her seven children and sixteen grandchildren often seek her out for advice. We look to her for advice on everything from how to potty train a toddler to how to break up with a boyfriend. Grandma relishes the fact that we ask her for advice, but she never offers it without being sought out. She is like a rock: never-changing. My own parents got divorced when I was twelve, but I always knew that Grandma's house was a source of stability when the rest of my world seemed tumultuous. This sense of security has helped me face other challenges as they come along in life, like when we moved during my freshman year of high school. 

    Grandma also inspired me to pursue my goals. Because of the trials she faced without shrinking back, I am able to have the strength to work hard and try to realize my dreams. Grandma didn't have it easy. Because she was a single parent from a fairly young age, offices to save for her children's college educations. She received no help from the outside and was totally independent from her own family's help. Grandma always stressed the importance of education to all of us in achieving our goals. Grandma's example of hard work and her emphasis on education have strengthened me to pursue a college degree, and eventually a PhD. Even though I will have to work to get through school, I know that if Grandma worked while raising seven children alone, I can handle taking care of myself. Her tireless example is truly inspirational. She has also encouraged me in my chose career, teaching, because she feels it will blend well with family life when I eventually have my own children. 

    Perhaps the most significant legacy Grandma has left me is her example of always voicing her opinion despite what people would say behind her back. In an age where segregation in social circles was common, Grandma's dinners after church on Sundays would look like a United Nations meeting. She would include all races and nationalities, and became close friends with a very diverse group of people. If someone tried to put down another race, she would quickly voice her disagreement. This refusal to be swayed by "popular" opinion had a huge impact on me, and is a guiding principle in my life today. 

    I certainly would not be the person I am today, inside or out, without the influence of my grandmother upon my life. I can only aspire to imitate her stability, her work ethic, and her refusal to be silenced by other people's disapproval.  
              

Persuasive Essay: Gardening for Community Needs

    Have you ever wondered where your food comes from? Say you ate a tomato at lunch today. That tomato was probably grown on a farm in another state, planted and harvested by a farmer you do not know. The farmer was paid for each tomato he or she sold. Then, the tomatoes were driven in a truck cross-country to a grocery store that is owned by someone else you don’t know. By the time that tomato reached you, it had passed through hundreds of hands and collected lots of germs and unhealthy pesticides. It is extremely important to know where your food is coming from. Making space for a community garden is essential because it would encourage unity in the community, save money, and promote a healthy lifestyle. 

     First, a community garden is an easy and effective way to encourage community bonding. You probably walk by the same people everyday on your way to school, but you don’t have any reason to talk to them. If there were a community garden, you would share experiences with other people to work towards a common goal of harvesting fruits and vegetables. Many of my friends live in my neighborhood, but if there were a community-wide project, then I could meet people from other neighborhoods too. A community garden would also provide a safe space to interact. It is important for people from different backgrounds to work together to create something. A community garden is exactly the type of thing that unites a community. For example, when I was eight years old, some people wanted a new playground at the elementary school. Instead of hiring a company to install it, the community came together to build an amazing wooden playground. We not only saved lots of money and materials, but we became the only school on the north side with a wooden playground. Students from other schools came to play and I made many new friends this way.

     Another reason to have a community garden is to save money. The mayor of Lilburn, Eleanor Markin, is in favor of a community garden. She says,”Not only is a community garden a perfect way to build goodwill between people, but it is extremely economical.” Instead of paying other people to grow our food, we could do it ourselves. The initial cost for clearing out the space and getting materials and tools may seem high, but research shows it really isn’t. We will spend less than two-thirds of what we would spend hiring other people to do this work for us. If we save money this way, we could invest more in other programs.

     In addition to making the community more close-knit and money-saving, a community garden also promotes healthy eating and a better lifestyle. Food grown in a community garden is very healthy and natural. It is much healthier than fast food, which a lot of people eat because it is cheap. If there were a garden that people in the community were responsible for, then healthy food would be readily available for a fair price. According to Randal Leekhelm, directer of the Community Garden Coalition,”When people are connected to their food, it encourages them to eat healthily.” Gardening is a simple and easy way to promote good eating habits. Also, the U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention released statistics that say 40% of adults and 23% of children do not get enough exercise. Exercising is a very effective way to stay healthy. Caring for the garden would require a lot of bending, lifting, and shoveling. What better way is there to exercise than working in the garden?

     The goal of a community garden is to make people more active and aware of what they put into their bodies. If people got into the habit of working into a garden, it would quickly become a favored way to spend their time. Come to the garden on Saturday, October 4. Demand that the city council make space for a community garden. It is important to bring the community together and promote a healthier lifestyle. 

Narrative Essay: A Terrifying Adventure

    Fear can change a person; here is how it changed me when I was ten. It was my friend Phil’s birthday. A few of our friends were planning to spend the night camping in the forest behind his house. The mid June air had grown humid earlier in the day, and the evening brought little relief. Soon, dusk approached. 

     We pitched our tent in a soft, grassy clearing surrounded by several towering trees. This spot was about a quarter mile from Phil’s house.

 “This is the perfect spot,” Phil explained. “The ground will be really comfortable for us to sleep on.”

 “Looks good to me,” I said as we loaded our sleeping bags and supplies into the tent.

     We pictured ourselves as fearless adventurers in a deep jungle, spending a night in the forest by ourselves. 

Little did we know our bravery would soon be called into question. 

Starting up at the roof of the tent, we could see the outline of the trees that stretched above us. After dark the forest stirred with a bit of activity. Otherwise, the night remained very peaceful.

     Later, we decided to tell scary stories about creepy monsters. With each story the idea of an entire night in the woods grew scarier, too. Suddenly, we heard a soft whoosh, followed by a loud thump! A mysterious shadow flashed onto the top of our tent. Screaming in terror, we scrambled out of our sleeping bags. Sprinting furiously back towards Phil’s house, we felt certain that we had narrowly avoided an attack.

 When we arched the house safely, Phil’s father set out to search the area.

 He returned with some surprising and embarrassing news. 

 “What was it? Did you find it?” we inquired anxiously.

 “Yes, I think I found the culprit,” he said smiling. “ When I got their, the neighbor’s cat was climbing up into the tree above your tent,” he chuckled.

 “She must have fallen out of the tree and given you a scare.”

 “Oh. How strangely hilarious!” Phil exclaimed.

     The mystery had been solved. However, we all sheepishly admitted that we had no desire to return to the tent. We slept safely and peacefully inside the house. We were the brave survivors of a harrowing adventure. In conclusion, I learned an invaluable lesson about the causes and effects of fear. 

Argumentative Essay: Unrivaled Teaching Methodology

    Has the thought of replacing books in schools by tablets ever occurred to you? Have you ever imagined how using a tablet in class could improve the performance of students? Do tablets actually help students academically instead of distracting them? It has been proven that 73% of students have shown improvement in their academic work since the introduction of tablets in their classes. Allowing the use of tablets in classrooms rather than books is a controversial issue that some people agree to, while others don’t. Substituting books by tablets is a privilege that would show an immense improvement in classes.

     The use of tablets in classrooms instead of books offer students many facilities and features that books are limited to. Tablets provide millions of ebooks rich with information that could never be found in one book. Also, tablets supply students with images, videos, audio, and interactive features, not to mention that they allow students to highlight texts, take notes in margins, and even access a dictionary directly within the book itself. This way, tablets are surpassing everything a traditional book can offer. For example, if a student has a certain research, he would be obliged to go to the library, look up several books, waste a lot of time. However, when using a tablet, he could get what he needs with one click!!

     On the other hand, tablets enormously improve learning. Students are attracted to technology, so studying from a tablet would attract them to the lesson. In addition, students would become more engaged in classroom discussions when using a tablet as well as participate more. Facts state that 60% of school faculty thought that students were motivated by lessons that incorporate the tablets than those that didn’t. Moreover, 69% of students feel that using the tablets motivate them and that they work better with tablets than without them. Also, 73% of students feel that tablets help them improve the quality of their work.

     It is claimed that tablets harm student’s health when used recurrently. Students might suffer from eye strain, back pain and wrist pain. It is true that tablets hurt the eyes and cause other health problems. However, books cause bigger ones. When a student is bending over to read from a book, his back and neck are being exposed to danger. Also, when a student is lugging a bag full of books back and forth from class to home everyday, he is thoroughly causing the defection of his back and spinal cord. Furthermore, many books offer texts with a very small font that would eventually hurt the eyes of students. Almost, 70% of students suffer from back pain as a result of carrying books, and bending over them, and almost 30% of those are scarred for life...

     In conclusion, tablets are a great evolution to the schools academic systems since they offer several features as well as amend student’s learning. School administrations must take into consideration what is best for their students which is definitely introducing tablets as a way of education, for who knows, might tablets be the light of a bright future education?  

Essay on Books

    Books are of different types. Some of them are useful and delightful while others are not. The exact value of books is greatly related to their content and purpose. 

     Francis Bacon, a famous English essayist, classifies books into three categories in his formal essay “Of studies”: “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested.” In other words, some books should be read in parts; others hastily, without much concentration and attention; and some few thoroughly and steadily.

    In essence, books are used as a source of knowledge and information; they are also used as a source of pleasure and amusement. As a source of knowledge, books are considered valuable stores and treasures of information, wisdom and moral advice, for they widen the horizon of the reader’s thoughts, deepen the meaning of his life and enrich his experience. By reading a useful book in the field of history or science, for instance, one can learn a lot about past generations and live with the most honest people of past centuries. In fact, a valuable book is to the mind as nourishing food is to the body. As a source of delight, there is no companion like a good book, specially when one feels lonely and sad. One can drive evil thoughts, anxiety and boredom out of one’s mind by reading an entertaining book. This certainly relates to the positive side of books.

    As regards the negative side, there are books that are very dangerous to read, for they poison the reader’s thoughts and spoil his character. Examples of such books are those on crimes, violence and immoral or indecent behavior. Books of this category are a waste of time, specially to our children; they may instill evil thoughts in their minds and, subsequently, affect their behavior adversely. Consequently, parents should be very careful and cautious when selecting books for their children.

    In conclusion, books, if well selected, can be regarded not only as faithful friends but also as unfathomable wells of knowledge. Although they cannot control the length of our lives, they, undoubtedly, can control their width and depth, thus rendering them more meaningful and enjoyable.

Essay on Happiness

     All  people struggle in their lives for the attainment of a single cause, namely happiness. Happiness is defined in Webster's dictionary as the state of well-being and satisfaction. Out of this definition, which seems to be too general and comprehensive, people tend to offer their own interpretations. Some people believe that happiness exists wherever there is money. Others disagree, maintaining the view that the supreme and ultimate source of happiness lies in the prosperity and glory of one's country where the citizen can live happily and freely. A third group of people holds the view that true happiness lies in the acquirement of knowledge, high diplomas and social positions. As for me, I believe that true happiness exists in the power of extracting it from common things. To support my point of view, the following example may be considered a good case in point.

      Once there lived on the banks of the River Dee a miller who was the happiest man in England. He was always singing as he worked all day long in his mill. His cheerfulness made everybody cheerful.  People talked about him so much so that the king himself heard about him and decided to visit him. This visit the king wanted to pay to the miller in order to discover the secret of his joy and happiness. As the king stepped inside the dusty mill, he heard the miller singing,

"I envy no-body, no, not I!

For I am as happy as I can be;

And no-body envies me."

      When the king asked the miller about his cheerfulness, the latter answered, "I earn my own bread; I love my wife and my children; I love my friends and they love me; and I owe not a penny to any man. Why should I not be happy?" Thus, the dusty mill brought happiness to the miller, while the golden crown brought trouble to the king.

      All in all, what is happiness for one person may not be so for another. One spends his life running after wealth; another seeks glory; and a third one runs after knowledge and social positions. To the first, happiness is wealth; to the second, glory; and to the third, position. However, I believe that none of these three people is really happy. They all still complain, at one time or another, of the heavy burdens of life although they possess what they want. Does this mean that happiness is a mirage or a daydream never to come true? Undoubtedly, happiness does exist, and it knocks at every door, saying to man, "Here I am, at your service, sir. Just relax, and find me inside you."

      In conclusion, it is inside that happiness dwells. Happiness can be extracted from the simplest and commonest things in life. One finds it if he does his work honestly driven by a noble motive. One finds it when he opens his heart to people in sincerity, love and trust, as well as when he proves to be dependable, responsible, conscientious and cooperative. Then jealousy, hatred, dishonesty and all other bad traits that poison one's life will disappear, and will give way to happiness that dwells there in peace.