An Excerpt From 'A Lesson Learned'

Monday morning Maddie woke up a little after six thirty. It was clear to her that she would be late but she didn't really care. There was so much going on. She spent most of her shower wondering what was going on with Elijah and his siblings. Quickly, she got dressed in a white blouse that had opened shoulders, skinny jeans and her white converse shoes. She got her stuff before leaving the house quickly. By the time she was driving away from Starbucks, first period had begun but she didn't really care.

Deej Logan was just like any normal high school girl. She woke up on her first day of school and combed her hair, picked out the “perfect” outfit and headed out the door. What she didn’t know is that after that day nothing would be the same. Nothing that day seemed to be going right. At school drama was swarming all around her, not exactly what she hoped the first day would be like. By the time the last bell of the day rang she was more than happy to get out of that school. She drove home as quickly as she could but as soon as she got home she realized that she had forgotten to pick up her sisters. “Great.” She thought sarcastically as she sat back down in her car and drove off. Just then she pulled out her phone to message one of her friends about her awful day. That one decision changed everything. Before she had a chance to send the message Deej veered off into oncoming traffic and was killed on impact.

Analysis of "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest Gaines : Themes of Women and Community

Meet Melinda, She's is attending her first day of 9th grade at Merryweather High, And it did not go so well. All her old friends don't talk to her. Other students laugh at her. Rachel says she hates her. Melinda really wants to tell everything to Rachel, but she can’t speak. Melinda calls her English teacher Hairwoman, because she hides behind all her hair. Melinda's doesn’t like her Social Studies teacher, she calls him Mr. Neck. Lunch went pretty bad. She didn't have anybody to sit with because all her old friends are mad at her for what she did, then a guy hits Melinda with food and then she ran out of the lunchroom. Mr. Neck makes Melinda stop, and expects an answer but since she can't speak,she gets in trouble. After that, she had Art

Jefferson controls his future because it up to one to make the choices they desire but also all of your choices will affect your future. Example if you make bad choices in life you get bad results in life. When you make choices for your future you always got to analyze and make a smart decision because a bad decision could lead you into a lot of trouble just like it did to Jefferson. However sometimes you may not have control over your future because sometimes things happen that you least expect.

A quote I once read by Frederick Douglass said “The white man’s happiness cannot be purchased by the black man’s misery”, this statement symbolizes that generations before us had suffered substantially by racism, injustice and violence. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, we observed that in the 1930s, though slavery was abolished, a black man was still not treated as if he were a member of society. More than a decade later in “A Lesson before Dying” we still witness racism playing a big role in civilization. Even though these novels are very different in certain circumstances they have one big similarity. In both books we are taken first hand into two courtroom cases where a white man is accusing a black man of a ruthless act. Through the

Connie, a stereotypical fifteen year old girl, views her life and her family with dissatisfaction. Jealous around her twenty-four year old sister, June, despite June’s outward plainness, and tense around her irksome mother, Connie escapes to the mall with her friends. She and her clique of friends

The article “Lesson of a Lifetime” by Stephen G. Bloom is about Jane Elliot’s exercise to teach third graders what racial discrimination feels like. In the exercise blue eyed students are treated as inferior by the brown eyed students and then it is reversed. This allowed the students to step into a child of color’s shoes for a day. Her experiment was featured on a show and it caused an uproar, especially in her town, Riceville. She then practiced the exercise first in her classes but, then to larger places such as the U.S. Navy. Many people feel anger and hatred towards her because she has a blunt no-nonsense demeanor. Some people hated her exercise and some people loved it. She argues strongly for it because even if it hurts the child a

Although fiction is a literary genre that contains untrue stories about made up characters and situations, it also frequently references real life trials and tribulations. By creating a story about a fictional person or place the author has the ability to speak about serious topics without causing any friction with people who may be involved with that particular situation. For example, in “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara and “Brownies” by ZZ Packer the authors touch on multiple themes which range from the value of education to the impact that the socioeconomic status of a neighborhood or family has on children. The stories are very similar in a sense that they are both centered around an event taking place in the lives of

This autobiography tells me a lot about the author. The “Valuable Lessons” lets me know what the author has learned so far in his life. The author understands some of the key aspects of life and knows what choices to make, which will benefit him. Also, the author adores his family very much. Family is of most importance is his life as he states in “One Medium Suitcase.” Also, I understand that the author has had some hardships in his life. Such as, tearing his ACL and having to be not able to play sports for the past year and a half. The author wishes that he could go back in time and change that day. Also, he says that he will overcome this problem and move on with his life in “Flashback.” The most important thing I learned about

Naomi Bellacotte had awoken from the nap at the sound of a heavy book falling off of her bed. The ebony haired, green eyed girl was suppose to meet her best friend roughly half an hour ago so when she saw her side table clock it was no wonder the first words out of her mouth were, "Oh shit!" Naomi was going to culinary school and her best friend had no business anywhere near a stove top so she was planning on spending as much time with him as possible. Three weeks today she broke up with her ex, as he had cheated on her and Michael had nailed him good in the face. the very thought made her smile. Thankfully her best friend was only five houses down the block so she slipped on her boots, fixed her grey short layered shirt, and dead pool tank top before heading out the door. Her long ebony locks were pulled back into one tuggable ponytail. Naomi's parents were on a seven day cruise while she opted out to spend more time with her best friend. She offered to cook them dinner and then they were suppose to have a movie night.

I. It is 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning, and Sharon is about to awaken her two year old daughter, Jessica, to prepare for a 4 hour car ride. Jessica has not gotten much sleep in the past few days due to long hours of practice and is now very cranky. The only time Jessica will get to nap is during the 4 hour drive but then must stay awake the rest of the day. They pack the car with numerous suitcases all containing loads of make-up, hair supplies, and costumes, all for Jessica. The family has a long and busy day ahead of them. Sharon is one of the many over-demanding parents who put young and innocent children into beauty pageants each year.

“Okay, Margot honey, have fun in school today, make sure you eat all of your lunch and…” Margot’s mom reached for her phone that had begun to ring. “Oh sorry honey, Mommy’s got some important things to sort through at work today.” She leaned down and kissed her young daughter on the cheek before quickly exiting the day care center and rushing to her SUV, ready to start another long day at work.

Kamryn was driving home from school when suddenly she got a call from her mom. Her dad, Clinton had a heart attack and doesn’t have long left to live. Up until this single accident that has started a chain of events, Kamryn’s life had been coming along fine. She had gotten married four months ago, only had three weeks until she was going to graduate from college, and the day before got accepted into the biggest fashion company in New York. Her parents had been divorced for several years, but she had agreed with their decision. After she told her husband Hunter that she would be leaving for North Carolina, she got an airplane ticket and left. Once the plane landed Kamryn went straight to the hospital only to see her mom talking to the lawyer. As her mother looked over at her, Kamryn realized she would never again see her father. All those memories that she once shared with him flashed before her eyes, making pancakes in the morning, playing board games, and getting up for Christmas. She was devastated. The next day Kamryn, her brother Maxx and her mother Circe went to the lawyer’s office to look

Oh no! Mom told me to go to bed 10 minutes ago! I better hit the hay! Mila thought. She rapidly slammed her Junie B. Jones book and bundled up in her wooly blankets. But then she remembered something! She had soccer practice tomorrow morning! Mila shut her eyes, excited for the day ahead. When Mila awoke in the morning, she excitedly got dressed, brushed her hair, and ran downstairs to eat a delicious breakfast, when all of the sudden, her phone started to dance in her pocket. Buzzz Buzzzz. She knew immediately that it was her friend Maddie calling!