Advanced Essay #1

The main goal of my essay was to be able to be open and share something that is very important to me. I wanted to be able to make people step back and become aware of everything and everyone that they have. One thing that I am very proud of in the essay is how I was able to be very transparent and write about a time in my life that was really hard. One way I would like to improve my writing technique is by expanding my vocabulary and figuring out how to not repeat the same words over and over again.

My mom had just left the house not even two minutes ago, yet there she was, banging on our front door. I peered out of our front window, remembering all the things my parents had told me about opening the door for strangers. Pressing my nose up on the glass, as my warm breath began to fog it, I saw my mom, standing on our front steps with her hand in her hair, tears dripping down her face, shaking ever so slightly. I watched her struggle with her keys, hearing the faint jingle through the window. I leaped up and ran to open the door, confused as to what had happened. As I unlatched our lock and opened the door, watching as the light from outside flooded the living room, I saw the flashing ambulance lights across the street. Time felt like it was moving in slow motion. A million thoughts went through my mind, one after the other; my mind racing so intensely that I could barely breathe. My mom, still trembling, walked into the house, and as she tried to pull herself together, uttered, “he had a heart attack.” Not sure how to respond, I asked if he would be alright. That’s when she told me the ambulance didn’t make it in time. He was gone before the paramedics got there. He was breathing one minute, and the next, he was gone. We had just had dinner with him a few nights ago. How could he be gone in such a short amount of time? He was just here. Alive. Healthy. Breathing. Within minutes, his life was taken. His voice never to be heard again, and the sound of his footsteps on the hardwood floor was only a faint memory.

I never realized something like this could happen so close to home. You hear about these stories on T.V., but you never expect them to happen to you, and when they do, they are heart-wrenching. Seeing my brother’s friend lose a dad at such a young age is an image that is planted in my mind that I will never be able to get rid of. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain and heartache they felt and still feel. A whole piece of their family puzzle has been taken away, never to be returned. A family is not complete when such an important figure is taken from a family. My brother’s friend went to bed the night before, expecting to wake up and live another typical day, but instead, he lost his father. The father who raised him, cared for him, and loved him. Not only did their family lose someone very important, but our community did as well. He was one of the most influential and active members of our community and losing him impacted us all. I’ll never forget everything he did for my family, and I wish more than anything that he didn’t have to go. I don’t even remember the last thing I said to him, because I didn’t think it’d be the last time I’d speak with him. You never expect the last time to be the last time. I can’t remember what his voice sounded like or how he laughed. It’s the little things that seem so small when someone’s alive, that are most important when they’re dead.

I think of all the times I fight with my parents or don’t fully appreciate everything they do for me, and sometimes I think of what would happen if they died a few minutes later? What would happen if we fought and then my mom went to the store and got into a car accident? I would be crushed and I don’t think I’d ever forgive myself. It’s normal to fight and bicker, but it’s also so important to never leave angry, or go to bed mad because you never know when it’s going to be someone’s last day. Too often, people fail to appreciate certain things in their life; whether it’s family or food, there is a lack of gratitude. When someone is given so much, they often take many things for granted and if they suddenly lose the people and things they once took for granted, then they live with that burden for the rest of their life. Life is constantly busy and stressful, however, it’s important to sometimes take a step back to realize and appreciate everything that you have, because there are so many amazing things in life that you don’t realize you have until their gone.