The True Meaning of Home

Word Count: 294

        My phone rings, it’s my mom; I was greeted with a soft-spoken, solemn voice. She asks what my plans are for the night, not a usual question from my mom. I immediately ask what’s wrong? Anxiously awaiting her response, I stop dead in my tracks to hear her voice cracking with tears saying, "They don’t think grampy is going to make it to the weekend". I collapse to the ground, drop my phone, and burst into tears. I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest. My grandpa was diagnosed with lung cancer the previous year, but last I heard he was doing alright. I was confused, lost, and numb. My grampy: the man I idolize, adore, and love with all my heart, being taken away from me with just one phone call.
       After the agonizing 4-hour ride home, we arrived at my grandparent’s house filled with relatives, and then there he was…lying in a hospital bed where his La-Z-boy recliner usually is. He looks frail, gray, and sad; far from the lively smile, caring eyes, and jolly beer belly I am used to seeing. My body was weighed down with pain and anger. I went up to him and held his hand, he looks at me and in his scratchy, broken voice says, "my Ashley nickel…I love you". He then continues to keep saying he wants to go home. It wasn’t until later when we realized what he really meant…he was ready to go home with God. Everyone makes mistakes in their lives, he was a recovered alcoholic and smoked for over 50 years, but God was still there for him, waiting with open arms. I learned how important faith is and how influential it can be in a person’s life.

Point: People make mistakes in their lives, but if you keep your faith close to you, then God will take care of you when it matters most.

The Ups and Downs of My Educational Roller Coaster

     My best educational experience was in college. My freshman year I was a slacker, simply not doing well in school. I failed a class and did mediocre in the rest. When I told my mom the news, the look on her face broke my heart. When next semester came, I studied my butt off and learned to balance social life, softball, and academics. I ended up earning a 4.0 my fall semester and I’ve never felt so accomplished and proud when I told my mom the news and her face told me she felt the same way.
Word Count: 97

     My worst educational experience happened in high school. I was taking an AP Biology class and we had to do an oral presentation on the prehistoric ages. I HATE speaking in front of people, let alone seniors when I was only a junior. I remember getting in front of the class, feeling my face get bright red, becoming really hot, starting to get very sweaty and short of breath…I had my first anxiety attack. I needed to leave the room mid-presentation, only to come back to get points off my grade for refusing to finish.
Word Count: 95

Circle of Trust: First Draft

Word Count: 299

       Trust is an important characteristic that everyone needs to be capable of doing and giving. I believe that in order to be a friend, spouse, or family member, you need to trust. I never realized the importance of trust until mine was broken.
       When my parents got divorced, I lost all trust. I came to a roadblock; I did not know which way to turn or what perspective to take on life anymore, I was lost. My mom and my grandparents helped me to understand that in order to trust, you need to have honesty, respect, and love, especially towards yourself. This stuck with me, close to my heart, in order to get through my darkest days.
       Coming into college, I was prepared to take on a new chapter of my life. Bringing in my mom and grandparents’ wise words, I remembered that I was going to need to accept myself as a person and meet new people with an open mind and knowledge of how to trust. When I first met my best friend, I knew immediately that we were going to be friends because we had the same beliefs about trust. At this point in our lives, we both have experienced broken trust with friends, spouses, and family members. She helped me learn how to trust through experiencing our friendship. I learned that it was okay to trust someone again, and when I could actually verbalize that I trusted her made me feel like I accomplished a huge feat that I have been battling for years since my parents got divorced.
       Through my experiences the past few years, I have learned that trust works in a circle. If you learn to trust yourself, then you will be able to trust others and they will trust you back.


I believe that trust is the most important base to all friendships, relationships, and family ties.

Generation Obsession

This is what young girls believe they are supposed to look like.

       My generation has been the epiphany of obsession. We have become obsessed with what the media feeds us. Our style, physical appearance, and forms of technology are all trends that our generation are fixated on, thus the name “Generation Obsession” seems appropriate. We are exposed to pictures of perfect people with all the latest fashions which infect our mind with the idea that we need to be perfect. In addition, our generation is preoccupied with the constant change of technology, expecting something bigger and better each time. We are simply obsessed with everything that is popularly advertised to us.
(Word Count: 99)

Be There or Be Square

       At the center of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is what we call “the Square”. Generations of families have spent quality time at the Square, showing it plays an important role in the lives of members of the community, including myself. The Square has been a place where families can reach an island of utopia away from the stresses of everyday life.

       The Square consists of four streets lined with trees and benches that are filled with businesses, restaurants, and hotels. It is located a couple blocks from two colleges, the courthouse is nearby, and it has the city’s famous F.M. Kirby Center, which is used for concerts and performances. I saw my sister’s first dance recital at the Square and spent valuable time with my grandparents at the farmers market. The Square has always been the core to our community. In recent years, though, the Square has been losing its value. Businesses are closing down and leaving the buildings abandoned. Crime rate has gone up in the city, so families do not feel as comfortable taking their children around. Lastly, people just simply don’t clean up after themselves.

       The Square is an important part of the community and it should be kept that way. The abandoned building that are used from crimes need to be cleaned up so businesses can buy them. The most important part in preserving the Square is simply cleaning up litter so groups will want to host events and get the positive attention back to the Square.

Be There or Be Square

       At the center of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is what we call “the Square”. Our Public Square has been the center of events throughout history. Groups host events and fund raisers there all the time. It is located just a couple blocks from two colleges, the courthouse is nearby, and it has our city’s famous F.M. Kirby Center which is used for a wide array of performances, concerts, and shows. The Square has always been the core to our community.
       The Square is surrounded by four streets that are filled with businesses, restaurants, and hotels. Trees and benches surround the Square and at the center is a huge water fountain. It has always been a friendly environment where families can spend their weekends doing different kinds of activities. In recent years, though, the Square has been losing its value. Stores and restaurants are closing down and leaving the buildings abandoned. Crime rate has gone up in the city, so families do not feel as comfortable taking their children around. Lastly, people just simply don’t clean up after themselves.
       The Square is an important part of our community and I believe that it should be kept that way. Abandoned buildings are being used for crimes, so we need to clean them up so businesses can buy them. The most important part in preserving the significance of the Square is simply cleaning up the litter so groups will want to host events and get the positive attention back to the core of our community.

(Word Count: 250)

Technology's Attack on Relationships: Take Two

      Mass media and technology have evolved our style of relationships. Relationships used to be about compassion, commitment, and true love. We may still have that in today’s culture, but the style we have in approaching it is completely different.
      One of the main reasons as to why relationships have been changing is because of how they are advertised in the media. Society chooses to mimic the media and fulfill these “role models” whether they mean to or not. A very popular style in today’s culture is, bluntly, to see how many people you can sleep with. The cast of “Jersey Shore” is a prime example of how young adults think they are supposed to act. The better “game” you have, the cooler you are. This is the idealized single lifestyle that young adults attempt to fulfill. When they do decide to settle down and get into a committed relationship, they usually decide to make their relationships more technology-based so they do not have to deal with the stress of human interaction all the time.
      Without the need for human interaction, people rely on technology to stay in touch with their spouse. Technology has rapidly changed our ease of access to other people. Whether we use dating websites or social networking sites to find our soul mates, we lose the simplest way of communication…speaking! The ability to hear someone else laugh, talk, cry, or see them smile is something you can never get with technology. There is no way to show emotion over a text message or a computer screen; basic human contact is the style that used to always be used.
      Although technology has advanced greatly for the industrial world, it should not be brought into love. We have lost a lot of human interaction and have learned that is acceptable through the media. Our styles of relationships are easily influenced by what the media feeds us. Our relationships have the potential to be committed and loving, but it is a matter of getting over the threat of brainwashing from the media and technology.

(Word Count: 344)

Technology's Attack on Relationships

     Mass media can bring relationship standards down to disappointing levels. Our relationship styles have evolved greatly since the 1960s. There are online websites to find a companion, or we have the usual find someone in a bar. Neither of these are usually what we would call stories to tell the kids and grandkids. The main aspect of relationships, though, is how they are perceived in the media and in the general public in our society.

Love at the press of a button

     Relationships used to be about compassion, commitment, and true love. Although we may still have that in today’s culture, we have a completely different style of going about it. Texting, facebook, and “sexting” are all the newest ways of forming and “keeping” a relationship. Technology has changed the meaning behind a relationship. The way the media portrays relationships are either way over the top, fantasy fairy tale love stories or there are the relationships where the man treats the woman like dirt or sleeps around and the woman is usually oblivious. If we compare that the show, “Leave it to Beaver”, it is very apparent that these are complete opposites. The husband and wife in “Leave it to Beaver” had a respectable, happy relationship, unlike how our culture portrays relationships.
     My grandparents were married 53 years before my grandfather passed away and they were the most loving, committed couple I have ever seen. My grandfather was always a chivalrous gentleman. There may be a select few men who do treat their ladies right today, but according to the media proper gentlemen are a minority.
     The style of our relationships today is very technology based. We have lost a lot of human interaction and have learned that is acceptable through television shows and movies. All of the previous examples show that our styles of relationships are easily influenced by what the media feeds us. Our relationships have the potential to last for a very long time, but it is a matter of getting over the hump of getting brainwashed by the media.

Word Count: 336

Two Prescriptions for Writing

      Within two weeks, my entire world seemed to be falling apart right before my eyes. My father walks out and then not even two weeks later, my role model grandfather gets diagnosed with lung cancer. In my heart and mind, there was no possible way to get through such a shock. My mother was very upset as well and we needed to find something in order to cope with all the heartache.
      We came up with the idea of writing; we can write anything down from our thoughts to simple adjectives scattered around the page to exemplify how we were feeling. Writing became a release for my mother and I; we would trade our writings to get a better understanding of how each of us was feeling.I took our idea above and beyond because I would sit in my room for hours intently writing poems and multiple pages of what I was feeling inside. Being able to let out all of the pain by simply taking a pen to paper was exhilarating to me!
      Writing is a good way to learn about and love yourself; when a person’s life seems to be falling apart, being able to explain how you feel boosts self-esteem and gives a sense of serenity. Writing was my outlet for the hardest times in my life and I got through them as a stronger person who lives life to the fullest! Writing has truly been a healing and rewarding experience for me.

(Word Count: 247)

My Life is a Dream

      Growing up in a small town with little to do, I never thought that my biggest dream would ever become reality. I have always had a strong passion for playing softball and just like every young athlete, I dreamed of having the opportunity to play Division I college softball. My family was always very supportive when it came to getting me on multiple teams to be able to play all year round. After my parents got divorced when I was in high school, I did not know of any possible way that I was going to be able to fulfill my life-long dream. My mom and grandpa were my heroes; they did not skip a beat when we had opportunities to go to college showcases. Without their unconditional support and sacrifice I would have never been able to achieve my dream of becoming a Division I college softball player.