Author’s Note/Intro: I want you to think about where you came from. Where did your life begin? What is the earliest memory of your origin or home? What was it like? How did it look, how did it smell, how did it taste? How did you feel there? Could you ever replace that? Your origin is not replaceable.

The definition of origin is the point or place where something begins, arises, or is derived. Some may say they don’t truly know where their life began, where they came from or what it even means to have an origin. Your origin can be something you know little of, something you’re proud of, something you want to know more about or something you don’t know at all. An origin could be your birthplace, a certain group or culture, or something you remember from growing up. When thinking about the origin, many people ask, can people ever replace their home? There can be many different opinions on that, but it could also lead to other questions. It could lead to asking, could you adopt other origins? It’s a good question to ask if you can have more than one origin, but people also have different opinions on it. Since your origin is unique to you, whatever you think about these questions is true to you!

Can you ever replace your home? What do you think? Well, my opinion is no, you can not. Your home is your origin. Wherever you come from, that sticks with you. The culture, the language, the music, the clothing. Nobody can ever take that away from you. There will always be a sense of comfort because that is all you know. It’s been with you since you were born or since you can remember. You grew up in the culture, the people, the food, the clothing, and the homey feeling. You cannot just get up and move somewhere else and expect it to have the same feeling or ultimately replace your birthplace/home. Nobody should feel like they can tell someone to get used to their new home and let it replace your actual home. Even when you think you want to leave everything behind, you still get homesick or want to fill that void. This was evident in a book I read called Behold the Dreamers. The main character, Jende left his home in Africa to have a better life in America. He thought everything was going good for him until he started running into problems and started to get homesick. “ Neni, …. I’m ready to go back home… I want to go back to Limbe”(Behold the dreamers- Imbolo Mbue p 305) These are words I would have never thought I would hear from Jende at the beginning of the book until now. Jende and Neni just loved America so much when they first came and to think of everything that they’ve been through so far, I just would have never imagined hearing those words. Another example of loving your origin is found in a movie called Beast of the Southern Wild. A young girl named Hushpuppy who lives in a poorer part of New Orleans feels like her home and origin is special, even compared to the richer side of New Orleans. She thought that since it was her home, it was very special and that it offered more than what the people on the rich side of New Orleans could get. She said, “They ain’t got what we got.” Even though they didn’t have much, they made things work and made the things they do into the rich culture while having fun. That was much better to Hushpuppy than living large and having money. She loved where she came from and she truly valued her origin. Staying true to where you came from is a great feeling of comfort and pride. Someone’s home is something very personal, special, unique, and dear to that individual’s heart. I don’t think you can ever replace that special place called home. Your family, origin, and the way you were raised can combine different cultures and I feel like many people in our societies now are the way they are because of being exposed to different people, cultures, societies, religion, clothing, literature, food, values, arts, activities and more. Everything that we have in our lives now is because we adopted and combined things from other cultures into ours. For example, my family is black and makes soul and Caribbean food, but since Chinese food is something that has been put into the mixing pot of America, we’re not afraid to try it and add it to the foods we already like. A lot of things here were integrated to make one big culture or society of many different puzzle pieces of smaller societies, cultures, and practices. I don’t think we would have made it this far in the world without the combining and adopting of different cultures, origins, and societies to make it fit in all one.

My origin is Philadelphia and being raised in a black household. My origin was very special to me. Just like many people feel, where they come from, they’ll never forget. Your origin can be influenced by other cultures you grew up around. Those cultures may have rounded you well and have made you the person you are today. So my feeling is that your origin can be influenced but you can truly only have one origin. Your origin is your beginning. It’s where you started—where your seed blossomed and where you started to become YOU. Now, YOU choose to discover, take your origin, treasure it, hold it dear, or let it go to start a new life. There is always a beginning to every story though. It can always be tracked down and revisited. Your origin is what makes the world as diverse and special as it is. As a young girl once said, “The whole universe depends on everything fitting together just right.” Everyone’s origin is unique. Those are the different puzzle pieces that make the universe fit together just right.

“ Neni, …. I’m ready to go back home… I want to go back to Limbe”-Behold the dreamers “They ain’t got what we got.”- Beast of the Southern Wild “The whole universe depends on everything fitting together just right.”-Beast of the Southern Wild

Advanced Essay #1: FEAR

By: Caresten Lyn’ae Moses

My goals for this essay was to tell about how my fears affected me and to let the readers know that it is okay to have fears, as long as you try to get over them. I am proud that I was able to share my experiences with fear. I’m glad that I was able to give vivid details of my fears along with my feelings. If I was to improve my writing, I would plan out what I want to do and then I would have a better idea of what I want to write about and ideas could flow more freely.

Fear is a part of you and me. It’s apart of growing up. Whether it’s fear of dogs to heights, to asking a certain question, we all have fears. Having fears is totally normal. It’s about how you overcome those fears. In life, you can’t run from your problems or fears. You have to toughen up, muster up the courage and face your fears. It is one of the scariest things to do, but once you finally conquer your fear, you feel unstoppable and it easily turns into the greatest feeling. I know. I have been fearful of things in my life, and I felt stuck until I just needed that extra push or a sign to tell me to just face it.

I felt the push of a familiar big hand. There I was. Every step feeling so heavy. The music was loud and the lights were hot. As I stepped out onto the stage, I looked forward into the audience. I couldn’t focus on one face. As I looked further into the crowd, I saw the bright, blinding lights from cell phones filming. I then looked to the side of me when I saw the other girls in their pink sequin covered leotards and tutus. I saw the bright, blinding lights from cell phones filming. In this moment, I looked to the side of me into the wing of the stage. I saw my teacher counting off for us to start. I saw her mouth say, “5, 6, 7, 8.” I remembered why I was there in the first place. I glanced down at my arms that had goosebumps on them. I get the same cold, terrified, stiffening feeling every time I get on stage. It was time. My feet started gliding across the floor and I started to flow through the dance routine. I remembered to smile and show personality— To go full out on my movements and to keep going if I messed up. All these things the dancer teachers tell you to remember to do while dancing. It was so difficult to do all of that while dancing though. I was almost finished the dance, and my mini solo part was approaching. I remember my transition. The swift movement I had to do to get to my spot. I did it. I really did!

Dancing in my room when nobody is watching is so much different than performing in front of hundreds of people who are watching your every move. Fear is what held me back for so long. Once I finally got over that fear it all started coming together and things were easier. Fear seems so hard to overcome when you are older. Every little thing is frightening.

As I got into the car, I immediately popped in my headphones and shut the world out. I knew my parents wanted to ask me a thousand and one questions, but I didn’t care. I listened to my music and scrolled on Instagram until I fell asleep. I knew the ride home was going to be a long one. Since I was a small child, there was always something about the bumping and stopping and vibrations from the car that I enjoyed so much. As I laid my whole body across the cold leather seat, I drifted off to sleep. All of a sudden I was in a room. A dark, stale, cold, small room. This room was unusual. I tried to stand up but my head hit the ceiling. I must be trapped in a box, I thought. No. How did I get here? I heard a scratching noise. I turned behind me and it stopped. I looked forward again, and the noise continued. Suddenly, there was a small light. I could see a large hand with red gloves holding a lighter. I looked in the back of the lighter and saw a white painted face with a red painted smile. OH My GOD. CLOWNS IN THE DARK. Those were my two biggest fears. This really couldn’t be happening. I was shaking. Finally, I said this has to stop. I pushed the clown into the wall and shouted, “I’m not afraid of you!” The sight of the clown faded away and I woke up.

There’s always been something about dreams that make them seem so wickedly real. When I have a good dream that’s never a problem but I have a nightmare it’s the scariest thing. Fear is just a temporary thing. What I’ve learned throughout my 16 years of life is that if you don’t face your fears, you will be stuck thinking you can’t get passed them. Fears will hold you back forever, restricting you from accomplishing your goals. It is extremely necessary to muster up the strength and courage to face your fears head on.