What Are My Own Confessions

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them”, says Maya Angelou, an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. This quote reflects to Sarah’s journey in the novel Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, since the main character, Sarah, faces events that affect her well being, as they make her both weaker and stronger. These events causes her to lose her innocence, makes her persistent, and then eventually drives her to be pessimistic. Sarah experiences traumatic events through her journey, which leads her to change both in a positive and negative way.

The door slammed shut and we were both on the verge of tears; as I held her tightly in my arms we discussed everything that had just unfolded. What would become of our relationship? Emma's parents despised me as if their daughter was in love with Satan himself. We were both from completely different ends of society, but our love was inseparable, or so it seemed. Emma explained that even though she loved me we were just too different. After hours of conversation, we agreed to meet at a nearby restaurant the following day to discuss the future of our love. As I continue to reminisce, I lie wide awake, in a paralysed state, worrying about what tomorrow may bring. I know deep down in my heart that once that shining star dies so will I. Without her, I have no reason to live, no reason to continue fighting the cruel battle of life. Thus, if I lose my one and only angel there will be no hope, no light just a deep dark meaningless void filled with despair and suffering. However, despite the heartbreak and lack of light, I continue to cling to that last bit of thread, that last bit of hope, that last bit of

In just a matter of months, Sarah has hastily experienced and heard things that she hadn’t thought she would. As she moved into her cousin’s home, she begins to see how the

The story of Sarah touched the lives of many characters in the book “Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana De Rosnay. Sarah had such a profound impact on every character in the book, whether it is the scarring and unforgettable memories they have of her or new information they have gathered from the past. Julia invested her entire life into finding out more about Sarah, her life, and what happened to her after a daring escape from a concentration camp. She sacrificed her marriage and many personal relationships because she cared so deeply and passionately about Sarah and what had happened to her. Julia blocked out all of the negative opinions and people telling her to stop and worked nonstop to learn the truth, to never close her eyes on the past. The brutal past of Sarah left a

She eats by herself for the first time in her life, and afterwards remarks on how she feels about it: “How strong, how full of life and hope I felt as I walked out of that bakery. I opened my arms, burning to hug the new day. The strength of a million people was struggling up in me” (157). The words “strong,” “life,” and “hope” epitomize Sara’s newfound freedom she feels after breaking ties with her family. She relates her feelings within to that of “a million people struggling up in me” and these people-filled descriptions of loneliness show that even though she is physically alone, her individuality is such a success to her life that being only with herself is still a triumph. Sara continues, “I, alone with myself, was enjoying myself for the first time as with the grandest company” (157). She mentions that she is finally “alone with [herself],” but starkly contrasts this isolated description with the feeling of “the grandest company.” Sara celebrates her individuality another time when she leaves college with enough money to rent a beautiful room. She describes how, “I celebrated it alone with myself. I celebrated it in my room, my first clean, empty room” (241). By saying she is “with” herself even though she is “alone”, Sara demonstrates again that her individuality is a success. She celebrates the luxury of being alone and overcomes the hardships of her past by embracing

It will take that much time before you can get past what she went through and come to see the perfection of her sentences” (Grealy 235). After reading Lucy’s memoir from cover to cover, I could not agree more. The writing is concise, and each sentence is intricately woven with the next, sounding almost poetic. It is even more impressive how Lucy can communicate a considerable amount of meaning through only a few words. A part that deserves special recognition is one at the end of the memoir. “I wanted to tell the man I was with about it, but he was involved in his own thoughts and I did not want to interrupt him, so instead I looked with curiosity at the window behind him, its night-silvered glass reflecting the entire café, to see if I could, now, recognize myself.” The “night-silvered glass” is a metaphor for Lucy’s self-reflection as she comes to terms with who she is. Not only is this brilliant sentence powerful within itself but it also provides the reader with a feeling of closure and

My apologies, when I spoke you last week I was under the impression that when you went over there you cleaned up what was left over. I misunderstood, I thought when you mentioned brining over the trash can and taking care of what was left, that you had. I would have gone right over if I would have known. I always go and clean that room up or even stay late if there is a night event to make sure that this room is back to normal.

In this reflective essay, Stewart discusses the struggles her and her family went through. He family has faced a lot of struggles and throughout all these struggle a mirror was there to see it all. The essay starts off when Stewart is arguing with her mother then blinded by anger she broke the family mirror. It all started with her great-grandmother Elsie when she lost her husband in a tragic fire. The mirror was the only thing left in this fire. Elsie passed this mirror on to her daughter Ruby.

When I matriculated to Oregon State University, I realized how alone I really was, and that my popularity had meant nothing because I had no true connections with people in high school. I did not know how to work for anything because everything seemed to be handed to me. Finally my sophomore year of college, I met Harper, who immediately fit perfectly into my life. I’d never been that close to someone before, we did everything together. As I sat on the bus thinking about her my stomach began to contract violently and I masticated on one of my apple slices to try to calm it. Senior year Harper and I had decided to go to a big party for Halloween in Portland. Half way through the night Harper came up to me crying and insisted for me to drive her home, refusing to tell me why. I agreed because the party wasn’t that great anyway, but we got in a huge fight over why she wasn’t being honest with me or telling me what had happened. I had turned my head to look at her just for a moment, her red hair cascading around her shoulders, her eyes filled with

As I read this novel, I could not stop crying. The way that the characters persisted moved me, the ending was a perfect mix of joy and pity, and the imagery was far beyond amazing. This quote, specifically, speaks to me because I can apply it to any aspect of my life, especially throughout my metaphorical journey in seventh grade. This book of poetry is not a series of poems that I tell my story through, but rather a biography written about the challenges and successes in my life. I have changed and evolved into the scholar and young woman that I am today throughout one school year, which is remarkable and overwhelming all at once.

The narrator’s insanity does not unravel overnight. She is just an ordinary woman who suffers from depression. Her

My first encounter with Sara was not unusual. Our first meeting was during theater class, everybody sat down in chairs that were preset in a semicircle with our teacher at the front. Since this was our first class, nobody knew each other. Since that was the case, everyone had to stand up, say their name, and tell a fun

Reserved. That’s the word that describes me the most. It’s ironic when you really think about it because to the people I know really well, I’m far from reserved. However, since we’re in the context of college, people here would probably describe me as reserved. I remember the day like it yesterday. Like every other traumatic school story ever told, mine took place during middle school. To make this into short tale, a boy in my class had entire group of kids call me ugly. I didn’t care about my looks back in middle school; however, his callous actions opened my eyes, that day, to the spontaneous cruelty of life. I did nothing, to my knowledge, to warrant that attack, but that didn’t matter to him. On the outside, I seemed fine, however, I was

A good friendship will hold strong throughout a lifetime. In most cases however, one won’t make quite as long as the other. Some pets steal your heart, but ferrets also steal your socks. I played with Sneaky, who is a ferret, most every day when I was younger, and she was quite the animal. If I could see anyone again, it would be Sneaky.

I remember the day just like it was yesterday, the pale color and coldness of her skin. The sky was clear blue, soft, with a touch of red, and the trees seemed stiff in their bright green shade. The wind was blowing with its humid dry air. And All I could do was stand silently in disbelief, caught up in my own thoughts and calm as I ever been. Wondering what I could have done differently to change the course of time, life had taken us upon. Since that very day a chunk of my heart was ripped away, and broken into pieces… “Oh how I miss her so much.”