It Isn’t Big to Make Others Feel Small “Erica, hurry up over there!” Hanley shouts across the smoothie shop as I pay for my drink.
Every Friday, my friends and I go to Robin’s Smoothies across the street from Eva’s house. Today is extra busy because of the 4th of July town parade down the street. It’s a hot, sunny day and the ice cold smoothie feels refreshing as ever.
“See you next week, girls!” The owner says as we exit the shop. We start heading down the street and I can already hear the noises of the loud parade. “Erica, how did you drink your smoothie that fast…?” Sophia yells over the parade. I look down, embarrassed to see that I have finished my whole smoothie. “Fatty,” Eva mumbled under her breath. I ignored it. A big red,
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Thank God I’m in the back, I thought. I have a terrible fear of being in front of people, and what makes it worse is that I’m an absolute klutz.
All of the sudden my friends start pointing at me while screaming at the top of their lungs, “OVER HERE! RIGHT HERE!”
“Guys, please stop,” I mumble. “You… you’re perfect for the job!” The acrobat shouts my way. Oh my gosh, this can’t be happening. I thought. I push my way through the small crowd to the front of the parade, where everything had stopped. My hands are clammy and I can feel my face turn red as a tomato. “You, my friend, are going to lay right here,” the acrobat said, pointing to the dirty gravel road. I shakily start to lay down on the road as hundreds of town citizen’s watch me. Not only am I thinking of the crowd looking at me the entire time, I’m also in fear of the acrobat making a mistake and falling on me. “Here goes nothing,” the acrobat says as he quickly goes into a handstand position. He starts walking on his hands, over to where I’m lying. He does tricks over me while I lay there, eyes closed, ready to cry. “And that’s all for today!” The acrobat beams. I quickly get up without even wiping off all the dirt on my new clothes. I scurry over to my friends, who are smiling at me and waiting for me to say
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See you tomorrow!” Hanley snickers, slamming the door in my face.
How am I going to write a ten page essay on the Civil War in one night? I think as I sit down at my desk. As I’m researching the Civil War, something terrible crosses my mind. Why am I still alive?
I delete the 127 words I had written on the Civil War and instead write a note, looking like this:
Dear Hanley, Larissa, and Eva,
Remember that one time in grade six, when we rode our bikes all the way to the other side of town? That’s a day I’ll never forget. Now, in grade ten, nothing is the same. You guys were my only friends, and now I don’t even have you by my side. I have no one anymore. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, if I have no one to talk to, what is the point of living? Goodbye, everyone. Love, Erica
After I write the note, I get my phone out. I send a text to Hanley.
“Come to my house tomorrow morning so I can give you your paper. I hope you like it,” it reads. Within an hour, she responds.
It says, “I better.”
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I walk to the garage, where I knew my mom had a long piece of rope. I stand there, staring at it for a few seconds. Do I really want to do this? I think. I don’t even have to answer that. I hold the yellow, woven rope in my sweaty
When hearing a story for the first time, a person will take different things away from it, depending on their own experiences and the frame set by the storyteller. The same can be said of the American Civil War. Through historical sources, such as Tony Horwitz’s book Confederates in the Attic and the film CSA: Confederates in the Attic, today’s generation can see different sides of the Civil War including why people fought and how they recovered after.
He wanted to share all of the feelings that were still lived in this vivid, complex pool of feelings and views on what had happened that would change America forever. Horwitz’s finds a variety of people who are still attached to the story of the Civil War, as it provides for Vidal information and feelings for those who still couldn’t get away from studying and keeping alive the stories, talks, and history of the Civil War that happened in America.
Dragging himself to a sitting position he drags his hands over his face and hair. Pushing himself to his feet he stumbles, making his way to the table. He reads the note, leaving it where it lays as he pulls a bottle out of his pack and staggers back to his bed.
The Civil War’s effects on America can be interpreted differently depending on time period. Tony Horwitz’s 150 Years of Misunderstanding the Civil War examines different views historians possessed when examining the war. With this trend in mind textbook American History: Connecting with the Past by Alan Brinkley presents a specific view on the war. Brinkley portrays the civil war inaccurately by deemphasizing of the Emancipation Proclamation, casualties , and failure to explain the war’s impact on the south; this discrepancy glorifies the war’s outcome by disregarding negative effects.
The thought of war can make anyone feel uneasy but, a nation going to war with itself proves to be challenging. The American Civil War was a bad time in our nation’s history. The North and the South fought for a mixture of reasons but the issue of slavery was among the main reasons. In James McPherson’s book titled What They Fought For, 1861-1865, it manages to inform us in the form of various primary sources what the soldiers were thinking and fighting for. Sources such as letters from soldiers illustrating what they thought the war was about, such as honor, the right to preserve slavery, and to fight off the Northern Aggression. Many individuals believe that the Civil War was fought primarily for the right to own slaves but that is not necessarily the case. James shows us how the war had a deeper meaning behind the fighting between the North and the South. These men show us how, through many diaries and letters, what they truly believed they were fighting for and why they felt the
“I was obsessed with the Civil War because six hundred thousand people had died in it. And yet is had been glossed over in my education, and in pop culture” (Coates 99). It did not surprise me that the Civil War was not taught in depth to Coates, because it was not taught in depth to me. It also did not surprise me that Coates became obsessed with the Civil War due to its history and his curious personality.
History of the American Civil War, a class like no other. When the I began to embark on the journey to learn about our American Civil War, I did so with an infancy of learning from my times in elementary, high school, and the basic history classes here at the University. The amazing venture I took through this class opened my mind to a better understanding of what and why the Civil War took place. From a perspective I have never heard of, PIE R/V, one can ascertain certain aspects you may not fully pick up otherwise. This methodology makes one look harder at the facts and what contributed they may have on the history in which you are studying. This class was broken down into three major themes as pointed out on this final exam, but from those themes, I will take you and myself through these themes to show my understanding of what transpired over the entirety of this course.
Americans primarily know the Civil War today as a war between northern states and southern states. The war began because each side perceived its liberty to be at risk. However, the fight underlined core differences between the beliefs of the North and South. “I could easily prove that almost all the differences which may be noticed between characters of the Americans in the Southern and in the Northern states have originated in slavery”, said Alexis De Tocqueville while visiting the United States in the 1800’s (Keene, p. 270). What began as a fight for liberty soon became a fight over the institution of slavery. Both sides had different interpretations of enslavement and the moral questions involved with the topic. The book What They Fought For addresses these questions in profound detail using letters from members of both the Union and Confederate army.
The memory of the Civil War is vital for history and needs to be taught and preserved, so that the current and future citizens of the world can learn from others’ mistakes and take time to remember the lives that were lost.
To summarize, we discussed the “History & Myth” of the Civil War. We discussed the key events which took place in the war as well as an important individual, President Lincoln. Remember that the phrase “all men are created equal” wasn’t always the case for every American. I hope you were enlightened by these events and individual that helped shape our country into the dominant force it is
At first when I arrived at the Battle Field I could still see the decaying piles of bodies that this Battle Field was being turned into a memorial for. All of the people around me were just trying to make sence of the scene. One person was complaining to his slaves that they did not need to be listening to the junk that people in the Union were saying and that they should get back to work; while others jabbered that they had just heard that Lincoln was going to give a speech, I was so enthusiastic when I heard this, I could not wait to get to see what Lincoln’s thoughts were on the war, although I already knew most of them. Lincoln’s thoughts on the war were that the war was to keep the Union together. Lincoln had not yet said anything about the wart being about slavery,
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, is a degenerative disease of the brain found in those with a history of recurring brain trauma (McKee et al. 2009). CTE is separate from other neurodegenerative diseases (Corsellis et al. 1973; McKee et al. 2009). CTE is not to be confused with post concussive syndrome. Brain trauma can come from falling off of a bike; being in a car accident, or participating in contact sports. The main point is that any situation that may involve major contact to the head can cause brain trauma. Dementia, declined motor skills, and memory impairment are some of the well-known effects of CTE. This paper will take a glance at
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As we all headed outside to the football stadium, tension started to come through my whole body. My legs felt stiff and my hands felt as if water was running through my fingers. I was not prepared to walk across the stage. We practiced hundreds of times that morning but, it was just too hot to concentrate on what we were told to be doing. So much was going through my mind like, “What if I trip as I walk across the stage?” “Who all from my family is here?” “What am I going to eat afterwards?” I was starving because I had not eaten since 8:00 that morning. I stepped a foot onto the track circle and images went through my mind. Drops of sweat ran down my face and I tried not to look at the audience to keep myself from getting more nervous. As we stepped