Creative Writing - Whangamata Beach Essay Example for Free

Creative Writing Whangamata Beach Essay As I gaze over my photo album I pause on a particular photo. Its dark but I can just make out the shadowy figures posing in the background, the murky night enclosing itself around them. Brightly coloured flames shoot up from the wood in front of them; I can still feel that warmth of the fire. I search my mind trying to place the exact details of that night only they blur and condense until there are only specs of a memory. That photo always brings me back to one place, Whangamata. Looking up to the sky, glimmering with brightly illuminated stars I breathe in only to have my lungs become coated with the thick sea salt that travels up the sandy banks of the beach every time a wave begins to crash down on the shore. I reach for my camera which has been swallowed up by the surrounding sand. Brushing it off I focus it on everyones shadowy faces. They all gather around, they huddle to try fit into the screen of the camera. Taking the photo I hear the shutter click, lying back I close my eyes. The heat of the blazing fire penetrates my skin as I sink into the sand. I think about all the complications Ill have when I get back to Auckland. As I sigh, I position my head on a piece of drift wood. Aiming my stare towards my friends I see them singing and dancing around the fire. Lazily I smile at them when they begin to call my name. Youre no fun! Erin shouts as I stick my tongue out at her in mock response. After a while more people begin to join me beside the fire, their bodies tired from the erratic movement of tonights adventures. Rose begins to hush everyone and as it quietens a clearer noise is audible. Laughter and shouting from the distance booms and echoes around us. Everyone turns to give each other puzzled looks. This is our spot, how could anyone find us here? I squint trying to make out who they are but the blackness of midnight is too dark and hazy. Hidden from my eyesight for a while, shadowy silhouettes eventually emerge from the dimness behind the fire. A group of people were making their way towards us, shouting. One by one our group stood up, I was the last to stand but the first to approach them. Erin ran to catch up with me, linking her arm through mine when she reaches me. Her icy skin gives me goose bumps; I rub my arms to stay warm. Thunder rumbles in the distance as the cool offshore breeze begins to whip my hair lightly backwards and forwards. When we reach the intruders I speak, Im Kayleigh, this is Erin and theyre our friends I motioned towards everybody standing around the fire. The group standing before me smiled. Can we sit with you for a while; weve been walking for hours the boy closest to me asks huskily. I nod in reply. Instead of

Following a Trail of Tears Essay -- Government Iraq War Essays Papers

Following a Trail of Tears For yet another third period, I walked through the faded pink door into the fluorescent-lit room. I walked along the back wall, past the poster of the â€Å"Pledge of Allegiance† spelled out with license plates. I sat down in my seat. This would be my first of two periods in a row with Mrs. Sorenson, the quirky history/English teacher who would bring out her fiddle and sing songs based on the unit of U.S. history we were working on. This day, Mrs. Sorenson wasn’t singing any songs. There weren’t many songs she knew about the Trail of Tears. She reminded us about how the American Indians had owned the land before the Europeans came and how the new settlers wanted to keep the natural resources found in the Indians’ homelands. Mrs. Sorenson explained that the Cherokee Indians, a tribe of Native Americans, were forced off their land and marched thousands of miles on foot to be moved to the designated Indian Territory. She mentioned that many died, but more Cherokees cried. To me, this was merely information to be absorbed for the test, and then squeezed out to make room for the next unit. I had bigger problems than mere thousands of people in the past being paraded to some other place. Little did I know that in five years I would study literature extensively on the Trail of Tears for my college English class. The Trail of Tears was the Cherokee removal in 1838 from the southeast states of the United States into Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Remembering back to eighth grade, I vaguely recall the Indians being forced off their land and moved to Indian Territory with the violent assistance of soldiers; however, all the research I have done point out that only a few were moved under sol... ...te. This knowledge could keep Iraqi citizens from dying today. It could keep Iraqi and American soldiers alive. It could feed and house homeless all around the world. I want to be able to make a difference. If getting information is all we as people need to do to make a difference, we should try and stay informed. Information is the key to a healthy and peaceful world, which is why I will make an effort to keep informed. Works Cited Anderson, William L. Cherokee Removal: Before and After. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia P, 1991. 75-83. Jackson, Andrew. "Andrew Jackson's Second Annual Message." PBS. Comp. James D. Richardson. 4 Apr. 2007 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h3437t.html. Johnston, Carolyn R. Cherokee Women in Crisis: Trail of Tears, Civil War, and Allotment, 1838-1907. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama P, 2003. 56-78.

Explication of a Poem: Making a Fist by Naomi Shihab Nye

The title contributes, to us readers as it shows, that we are alive and strong as long as we can still make a fist. The person speaking in this poem is speaking to her daughter after a long car ride of days and days, maybe even weeks. Her mother is giving her comfort and reassuring her that even though people go through obstacles, you need to be strong enough to go through many aspects in life to bring happiness. And just tells her if you can still make a fist you are still alive. You will make it through because she believes her daughter has the strength to get through all the obstacles they have and will go through. This poem is very easy to understand, I think she did very well with her words and references of the content. I believe this story develops as a true statement, I think the lady speaking with her daughter has gone through similar obstacles as a child and her mother reassured her as she does for her daughter. It is always important to tell your children that they are strong and can make it through anything and that’s all she is trying to do. Many people face difficult times in life and that’s why it sounds so much like a true statement then just a story. Strength is very important to have and is always nice to have someone’s reassurance. Main idea of this poem is Strength. To never give up, and you are strong enough to get through anything even at rock bottom. The figurative language is symbolism the writer is giving her worlds to create the image using more meaningful words rather than a writers experience.

French Revolution Essay - 2188 Words

France was a nation ruled by an absolute monarch who had power beyond the grasp of any peasant, and just out of the reach of the aristocracy. King Louis XIV (1774 - 1791) of France was not willing to give up his monopoly that had existed for seventeen years. It was the perfect situation for his absolute government, and may have remained that way if he had been able to manage France’s finances successfully. More money had been spent on roads canals and wars then were being collected through taxes. In addition the government lost control over the bourgeois class. The bourgeois (working class merchants) gained control by using the disorganized peasant class, members of the Third Estate, who presented their grievances in cahiers to the†¦show more content†¦It is impossible for a government to run a nation without a healthy economy. Expenses were set down in March of 1788 at 629,000,000 livres and revenues at 503,000,000, leaving a deficit of 126,000,000, or 20 pe r cent of expenses. It was proposed that the difference should be made up by borrowing, but this action only paid off older loans and had no positive effect on the economy of France. The answer to this problem was to increase old taxes and introduce new ones. Louis XVI tried to decree new taxes to ease financial strain but parliament refused; Louis did not have the power to institute new taxes. Needing funds to carry out the day to day activities of France, King Louis XVI’s minister of finance, Jacques Necker, was called upon to solve the problem. He informed Louis XVI to call the Estates General to assembly in hopes that it would agree to an increase in taxation in return for limited royal reforms. This meeting was the last method Louis XVI had at his disposal to refill the treasury and when it failed, the absolute government he had grown accustomed to was in danger of becoming extinct. The Aristocracy maintained great power in the government when they refused to re linquish their privilege of paying a minimal amount in taxes. The government needed this money to help stabilize the dwindling economic conditions. They called a meeting of Notables to try to persuade the aristocracy to help the FrenchShow MoreRelatedThe French Revolution And The Revolution1523 Words   |  7 PagesThe French Revolution was a time rife with violence, with many revolutionaries using extreme actions to overturn the French Monarchy and create a government based on equality and justice, rather than tyranny and despotism. 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England was affected positively and negatively by the Revolution in that there was an increase of political involvement, but there was a collapse in the economy due to war declared by France. The French Revolution created a battle of conflictingRead MoreRevolutions And The French Revolution956 Words   |  4 Pages Revolutions are a common occurrence throughout world history. With the amount of revolutions in history, there are those that get lost and those that are the most remembered or well known. One of the well known revolutions is the French Revolution which occurred in the years 1789 to 1799. Before the French Revolution, France was ruled by an absolute monarchy, this meaning that one ruler had the supreme authority and that said authority was not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customsRead MoreThe Revolution Of The French Revolution1636 Words   |  7 Pageswas an old fortress that had served as a royal prison and in which gunpowder was stored. 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