... aunts, uncles, even people I never met that were related to us came over to my grandmother's house. I can remember watching the women making tamales, the men playing poker, and all of us kids messing around. The entire family would eat dinner together, obviously I sat at the kid table. Through out Christmas Eve, their ... I do wake up to gifts, but most of the gifts I already know what they are. All the fun is spoiled because I am an adult now. The mess everyone has made from opening up their gifts is cleaned up by me. I really miss Christmas past. There are some things which have not ....

• Word Count: 700
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

How I End up Where I am Now Now I am 22 years old, for the long history, it's very short, but for me it has a lot of meanings. It's consisted of happiness and pain. And give me a lot of ... it for me, every night I went to sleep with my mother's story. I am very naughty. I often made my mother angry, now my mother has gone, if I were a boy again, I would say sorry to her. I would say how much I love her, but now everything can't come back again. Looking back over my 22 years, it seems to me that I have learned the most ... as my major. I know that English is very hard to learn and I had poo...

• Word Count: 344
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

Once the Son, Now the Father When people look at my father, they see wrinkles like that of an old redwood. They see graying hair and a limp that cause them to assume that my ... be ashamed to say them. We play this singing game in which we tell each other that we love one another, and to this day we still sing it, but now my father includes my daughter. Some fathers buy their kids love with the latest toy or the biggest lolli pop from the candy store. A young child can't tell the difference ... ...

• Word Count: 971
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... can think about is the stadium and what had happened on that dreadful day. What used to be a song for enjoyment and excitement as the team scored was now burned into my memory as a dreadful reminder of what happened that day. My dad had to be air lifted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ... countdown on the radio was "We Are Young" by F.U.N. featuring Janelle Monáe. Not only was the song irritating to me at this point, but now it constantly reminds me of the painful one hour and forty-five minute drive and those terrible "what-if" thoughts. It was not necessari...

• Word Count: 1578
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... until Ni Kan played her first wrong note and every note following was wrong too. After doing so terrible at the talent show she stopped playing. Ni Kan felt that she had always disappointed her mother. Ni Kan does not believe in herself the way her mother does. After so many years ... of not playing Ni kan's mother gave her the piano and in the first time in a long time of playing the same tune Ni Kan realized that there were two parts to that tune and she finally began to ... understand what her mother was trying to do all those years. The expectations that Ni Kan's mother held for her...

• Word Count: 1526
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... were making fun of his turban. He said "our boys are still not allowed to play with the English". This was only one reason why he accepted his daughter playing football. Jess is a normal teenager who loves to play football on her free time. The only problem is that she is that she is Indian. Her parents are ... against her playing the game in the first part of the movie because they want her to be a normal stay at home mom who cooks and cleans. Her dad was a cold ... hearted guy, he said "your mom is right you need to learn how to cook and clean". But she didn't listen to that and kept...

• Word Count: 589
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... my first days of life and seeing my two older sisters, and older brother. The only thing that I could remember before that day was when I was playing in Jamaica. I was playing on a dirt trail, when a black car blew its horn. That same black car pulled up right next to the house where I was staying. A white ... life; they abandoned me. The rest of my elementary and middle school years were uneventful. In high school I started to excel in sports. My circles of friends now included the bullies from grade school to new friends. In grade school I tried to fit in, finally in high school, I fe...

• Word Count: 2587
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... just going to the store can take a while, with my dad. Seems like someone that is a fan of his guitar playing always approaches us. Then the admirer begins asking awkward questions, like what he does now, and what's my name, you know, things you wouldn't want to tell someone your sure you don't know. To my ... encounter, my dad proceeds to tell me, that he has never even seen, or met the person before. My dad, Lonnie Harper has traveled throughout the world, playing his guitar over the top of the neck (some people call it upside down). My mother has had a lot of defining moments listen...

• Word Count: 1032
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... I got to high school, it was a culture shock for me, so I went back to my old ways of skipping class and failing but I was still playing football. My sophomore my head coach was fired and replace with a new clean cut guy name Trey Herrmann. Trey first day on the job he informed us on ... college football. He pulled me to the side and told me he thought I was a great athlete but if I don't fix some things my last time playing football will be at Bellaire High School. Coach Herrmann motivated me so much I didn't fail another class my whole high school career and I appreciate him for ... t...

• Word Count: 655
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... happy to know I was going to be a mother for the first time, I became depressed. That feeling of confusion and depression I was experiencing, I now know were influenced by different domains; social-emotional and social-cultural factors, and perhaps some biological factors, too. I was so concerned about what my family ... pre-natal vitamins, which I only took for the first few months because they gave me a side effect, stomach burning. That effect was very uncomfortable, but now I know I should've never stop taking those vitamins, because you needed them. I have to admit my temper got wors...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... long enough for him to excuse himself to get another drink. At twenty minutes since he arrived, Thomas was already very tipsy. Thomas was having a good time now, talking with different people and having interesting conversations and catching up with Jim. After an hour or so he realized he hadn't seen his girlfriend in a ... expectations for what the baby would do, and he was completely let down to find that all the baby did was poop, cry and sleep. His parents now wouldn't even acknowledge him, their attention was completely focused on the baby, whether the baby was being cute or the bab...

• Word Count: 1878
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

This ad, for Cannery Row, shows a picture of three children playing on a white sand beach, all alone, with a woman's image transparently imposed over the top. On top of the ad is the text "Cannery Row/ Stay Here. Play Here." ... , and an expensive looking shirt. This implies that Cannery Row is a place for rich people to go on vacation. The children on the beach are smiling and appear to be playing a game and getting along well together. This happiness would appear to be brought on by their surrounding – they love being at the beach and just having time to play ... , it is safe to assume th...

• Word Count: 781
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... understand. She approached her mother. "Mommy?" She turned around and smiled. "Yes honey?" "Dad didn't want me in the kitchen and now I'm bored. Could I please borrow your tablet?" Kim said gently. Her mom thought about it and nodded. "Okay, but stay here okay? Dylan feel asleep ... She quickly grabbed her tablet from the corner and took it to the far corner of the living room. Time went by a lot quicker now that Kim was playing games. The baby in the room hasn't been crying for two hours. Suddenly Kim heard her brother making some sounds. She was about to ... After a few seconds she s...

• Word Count: 1410
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... them. When I was six years old, I remember the whole family going to pay a visit to my grandmother. Being a kid I would have rather sat inside playing Nintendo, but really did not give much thought about going to the house of the grandmother I never saw. It was a beautiful day out and everyone seemed a false ... greet her daughter-in-law or her three grandchildren. That very next minute my mother blew up shouting about facts that seemed indisputable at the time, but now I see that those facts held very sinister information. That was just the result of what would begin as an innocent gath...

• Word Count: 948
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... their daughters. Suyuan expects her daughter June to be a prodigy at something. This idea of a prodigy came from Auntie Lindo, Waverly's mother. Lindo takes pride in her daughter's skill in playing chess. Suyuan expects something to be proud of about her daughter as well. "Of course you can be prodigy, too You can be best anything. What does Auntie Lindo know ... the whole Joy Luck Club her daughter's talent. She expected a lot from June, exacerbated by Auntie Lindo's pride in Waverly. In Waverly's situation, Auntie Lindo watched closely to her practice playing chess. She gave her tips ...

• Word Count: 815
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... brothers friend calls to let us know that he has passed away. There were so many questions going trough our heads at that time and still are till now, we had no clue what had happened since, my mom had spoken to him ten minutes earlier and everything seemed alright. After reaching at the store where ... his body was still lying, we find out that he had shot himself while playing a game called Russian Rolaids. We don't know why he played such a dangerous game, so many of his friends, including my dad had tried to stop him ... from playing, but unfornately he did not listen. We still don'...

• Word Count: 708
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... families that are raised with a single parent? (Cole 433) What are the effects on children being raised in single parent homes? How do these single parents address the task of playing the dual role of both mother and father? Single parents must bear the stressors of raising children independently without the loving support of another. Therefore, the hardships of parenting are ... bonds. This dilemma leaves the children as mal-adjusted adults who are highly more susceptible to levels of high distress, low-self esteem, low acceptance views, and high general unhappiness. Playing the role o...

• Word Count: 1340
• Approx Pages: 5

... maintain tradition and superstition. In each story it is the father who was responsible for the violence done to their child. In No Music Before Mosque, the son, Ali enjoyed playing his flute while he prayed to God. It was his way of talking to God and showing his thankfulness for everything God had given him. He would play the music ... before attending Mosque. However, his father did not appreciate his music. He believed that by playing the music, Ali was "defying God" and was about to let Ali know that. The parents verbally abused Ali for playing his flute and not spending his time s...

• Word Count: 546
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... outdoors. Mom was home, dad went to work and we actually got to be children and enjoy ourselves. Society has changed that for children today. Now it is somewhat different and children are more complicated. Children live rushed life styles, want high-tech toys, and going outside is only an option if ... table at 5:00pm and you may never sit down with your family in its entirety to enjoy dinner. Children still may have softball practice, but now it is a mad dash to get them there. Then the parent runs to another place and handle something else and breezes passed the softball field ... oppo...

• Word Count: 778
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... realizes, after he has sent Maggie back to the office to call his mother, that his mother is not at home . She is at the Plaza playing bridge with friends. He then meets his associates in the Oak Room Bar for drinks, while the background plays "It's a Most Unusual Day (how ... Thornhill: And what the devil is all this about? Why was I brought here? Vandamm: Games, must we? Thornhill: Not that I mind a slight case of abduction now and then, but I have tickets for the theatre this evening, to a show I was looking forward to and I get, well, kind of unreasonable about things like that ... ...

• Word Count: 2455
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... 's well being. No matter how much her mother had despised her, she still had kept in depth with her values and morals taught by the same woman who hates her now. Such honor is one rooted from a person who truly is good hearted, yet, sadly, her mother does not see it. In Asian tradition, the flesh represents more than just a piece ... her daughter in a talent show competition to have her show off to her close friend, Lindo Jong, the mother of Waverly Jong. June with the skill of an angel at playing keys, and Waverly with a mastermind planning out strategies to conquer everyone at chess. S...

• Word Count: 1206
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... disappears, then life becomes a game, a game of guessing and doubting anyone and everyone you know. Once you start that game, it's hard to stop. Therefore, you spend your whole life playing that game, guessing and doubting, not being able to maintain a healthy relationship or live a normal life. Ever since I was a little girl, I knew there was something fishy about my parents" marriage ... that I had. I would never have these feelings again from the fear that I would be betrayed again. I put up a wall, a wall that no one would ever be able to take down. Now, a few years later, nothing h...

• Word Count: 774
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... name of the place is a total anomaly in the story. Life with the Wingfields is as far from paradise as it could possibly be. Laura appears to find solace in playing the same records over and over again, day after day. Perhaps the music floating up to the apartment from the dance hall is supposed to be her escape, which she ... just can't take. Often in the play the music from the Paradise Dance Hall is the background music for the scenes. The Glass Menagerie playing quite frequently. With war ever present in the background, such as the fact that Amanda is in the Daughters of the Revolut...

• Word Count: 840
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... the life of some tomboys and sissies, as well as on the anxiety of their parents. A girl at an age of three was shown, dressed with a skirt and playing with dolls. The next shot was at an age of four, revealing the changes that the attitude of the girl towards the dolls and dresses has been totally changed ... . Now she preferred to hang out in jeans rather than in dress. When she was asked by her mother to try a pink dress, she refused with the words "Pink ... the life of some of them, as well as on the anxiety of their parents. A girl at the age of three was shown, dressed with a skir...

• Word Count: 1396
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... brother, and his dad. Anthony comes straight up to me and starts trying to get me to wrestle with him. Mark decides to get in on the madness, so now we have a full-out wrestling match in the living room. In the kitchen, you can hear Mark's dad giving the sweaty boys hell for dribbling the basketball in ... him hell right back and Mark's mom is trying to break that up, but that ends up being a wrestling match too. That is a usual day at Mark's; wrestling. Now a typical day at my house is the exact opposite. Mark and I walk into my house and my mom is either in the office, with piles of wo...

• Word Count: 985
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School