... recall seeing or interacting with many African-Americans in school, in the grocery store, or anywhere around town. I can remember them being there, but it seemed like they stayed in their own part of town and not much mixing took place. While living in a small town can have its perks, it can limit the perspective of one's mind, leaving people to believe that ... hardly anything exists beyond the borders of that little town. When I was in the fourth grade, my dad moved us to Pennsylvania for six months for his job. The town we lived in was an Amish townso you can imagine the culture shoc...

• Word Count: 1095
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... childhood memories play a part in influencing our future career; it's certainly true for me. Every summer my family and I used to take a camping trip on Fourth of July weekend. The summer camping trip in 1990, was the ... and bread. Bacon would not taste the same without them, I thought. "Dave," mother yelled so loudly I'm sure she woke up the woods, "get up and run to town. We are out of eggs." The tent across the camp site began to shake and my father peered out with a grin. My father was a tall, slender man, so it ... to camp. Back at camp, as mother was making me a snack, the soun...

• Word Count: 1186
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... they were the only black family. The girls parents stay away from the town as much as they can and one their sons was actually killed by a car in town, probably a racist crime. The two girls describe their mothers Thursday get together with her friends as a strange community that entered our kitchen?. The women that came over every Thursday were all black women ... that worked as servants for the white families in town. These women and the girls? mother were involved in both giving and receiving. The mother received the memories of the ... people or things from a community and the effe...

• Word Count: 318
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... Dreams are manifestations of the subconscious, often related to events occurring in our conscience lives. Many times we address issues in our dreams that we will not or cannot address while awake. In the short story "My Brother, Gary Gilmore", Mikal Gilmore has a recurring dream in which he returns to the town he grew up in. His family, who have all passed away ... always night. We are in my fathers house-a charred brown 1950s-era home." In this passage Mikal refers to the house as "my fathers", why is the house is not our house, or my parents house? This possessive statement alludes to...

• Word Count: 1192
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... one day Grace made a conscious decision to take her own life. It was during spring break on a Saturday afternoon that Grace's parents were out of town tending to family matters. Grace knew that her dad kept a revolver in the night stand beside his bed. Grace retrieved the revolver and went to the ... gun. It was me. I had come to give Grace a casserole my mom made knowing that she was fending for herself since her parents were out of town. I could tell that there was something wrong with Grace, but she was quick to dismiss my suspicion. I got back into my vehicle not thinking much ... att...

• Word Count: 868
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... include characters with a strong desire towards education for themselves and others. A Northern Light is a book about a young girl named Mattie Gokey. Mattie lives in a small town where money is scarce and working hard on the farm is a way of life. She steps up to the "mother" position, taking care of her three ... Her desire to want to further her education is evident. In chapter nine, Mattie says, "Weaver and I had spent most of the year preparing for our exit examinations. We are going to take the hardest ones." (Donnelly, pg 59). Mattie kept attending school and working hard while mos...

• Word Count: 800
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... a vehicle, so the bus was his transportation. On a good day, it would take forty, to forty-five minutes, to get to town. Today was not a good day. Half of the population of New York also wanted to get to town. It was bumper to bumper traffic, and the ride ended up taking an hour and a half. By the time he got to ... town, it was 3:30 p.m. He hurried to the Calvin Klein outlet and found a sales representative to get measured for a suit. The clock read six by the time John returned home to ... brown hair and blue eyes, ran into the dining room and jumped on Nicole's lap. "John, I would ...

• Word Count: 1232
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... Sudanese. That was the Arabian Planning. They had planned that they would destroy the Southern Sudan because we don't believe in Islamic religion. They attacked our town firing up the building, killing people, and destroying all of the properties necessary for human existence. They killed many people (I cannot remember the number I ... was a baby) and left us scattered all around the town among death and wounded people thinking that we will die because there was no one to care for us since we were young. We were thousands ... my cousin peter and I were unable to walk and speak because w...

• Word Count: 856
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... important in life. I thought it was selfish of my parents to "force us" to move to small town USA and resented the fact that I really had no say in the matter. To top it all off, our first Christmas away from "home" was being spent in a rental! Located at 564 Salmon Avenue in Manasquan ... winter rental was my home for seven months. But it was in that rental that I first realized how much I truly needed my family. Christmas in our "old" house was celebrated very traditionally. Each year the totes of decorations which had been passed down for generations were unwrapped and carefully put ou...

• Word Count: 847
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... 't in her right mind. Upon entering her room, she called us all by a different name, I was Samantha. After a brief period, we left and went along our way. Never to speak or hear of her again. My father had a job that consisted of us traveling all the time, which kept us with no real place to ... . I was the only daughter and had two brothers. Sometimes we did travel with my uncle and cousin, but rarely did we ever have a place to call our own. We stayed with them, and sometimes they would stay with us or we would travel together. My mother's side however; seemed more down to earth and .....

• Word Count: 1220
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... as bad. Kids are a influential and viable source. Parents could learn from these relationships. But as time moves on, we grow, we learn, we see with our own eyes the real work and what it is for. When I was six years old, my parents plucked me from my quant little 2 home on Wooden Road ... Kansas. This was a drastic move for my entire family. But it was what needed to happen at that juncture in our lives. Hugoton was also as exciting as Dodge. A lot of things where changing in the town and I had to start school all over again. Once again new teachers, new students, different life. But God...

• Word Count: 812
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... breeze wipe off the ripple of tears at the corner of my eyes. It was a Sunday evening and we were riding the bus heading to my mom's small town after her mother died. The 2-hour ride from Gensan to Digos city was reduced to a deep slumber and by the time I woke up, it was already midnight ... sleep. She was very hostile to cats except for her pet Mingkoy, whom she left in Digos. She must have been very lonely being only with me in our house. I have never heard her laugh or talk sweetly to me, like how a stereotypical loving grandparent would do. I never held grudge on her though, but ......

• Word Count: 1160
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... symbolized with respect and admiration. These flowers work equally well as a gift for someone's close in the family like our parents. These flowers help me to recall vividly on my childhood days, every year without fail I would make a trip to China Town on Chinese New Year's Eve to do some last minute shopping. The crowds were usually large this time of the ... good ones left, I was getting exhausted after roaming for hours. Yellow carnations were my mother's favorite, I was instructed by my father to go get some for my mom on China Town. It was in memory of her, so that I can place it ...

• Word Count: 788
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... in this aspect of life. People a lot of times don't think of the things inherited from their grandparents. One of the key things inherited from our grandparents is their religious beliefs. Most commonly if a grandparent attends church you will to. But, sometimes your grandparents are split. One side attends church and ... our environment would be our friends. Most commonly our social status is determined by who we hang around or what friends we have. Like, if the people you hangout are considered to be freaks, most likely you going to be pinned that too. A lot of times peoples" friends a...

• Word Count: 1000
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... if we fail to make profit? Could we lose everything?" All these daunting problems never fail to scare most families away from establishing their own businesses, and our family was not an exception from the norm. My father had a steady job as a professor at a university while my mother took classes at the local ... community college. We lived in a nice town in rural Georgia. Surrounded by our Southern amenities, a business just didn't seem imperative. It all started during my junior year in high school when I had the impromptu idea of ... again. It was patent that the business was still...

• Word Count: 912
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... tiles searching the dusty isles for the poultry section. We purchased some bloody, red chicken necks - our bait! Two hours later we finally arrived in Dividing Creek, a little town known for its exceptional crabbing. That's where our adventure began. As my nine year old sister, Valerie, and my parents climbed into an aged and ... weathered rowboat, I noticed a few hermit crabs scurry into their holes on the river bank. We loaded up on the sun screen, and began to fill our boat with all our ... . It was my job to throw the anchor overboard. I picked up the cinder block attached to a rope...

• Word Count: 652
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... transportation, though he was riding a Vespa motorcycle. He eventually acquired a lot of cars which were at the disposal of my younger ones and me. We had our own driver, my Mom had hers and my Dad had his. We had whatever we wanted, went to the best schools, and ate three course meals three times ... best shoes. We had maids and a lot of helpers in the house. We had whatever we wanted even without asking. Growing up I was invited to every party in town and I had a lot of friends. Everyone I met wanted to be my friend because I was a rich man's son and was always had lots of money, and ...

• Word Count: 926
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... , a place I had become a stranger to. We arrived at the house and there were a lot of people there waiting with smiles and wonderful hugs. We spent our days reminiscing, laughing and learning about each other. I went to the markets, the mall, and visited friends' houses. These things brought back many memories. When there ... three days left to my seventeen day vacation, my family and I piled into two vehicles and headed to a beach house. The house was located in a little town called, Sabaneta. I was excited to see more family and friends and also to see and the beach. Living in Vermont,...

• Word Count: 672
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... a more poignant analysis of this story for the 1990's, where, due to psychological and social influences, Paul senselessly drives himself to an early grave. Our parents, especially at a young age, are the most influential persons in our lives, so in order to understand Paul, one must look at his mother and father. The story actually begins with a discussion of his mother, saying ... of Paul's parents, at least on the mother's side. Paul's father is pushed to the back of this story. All that readers know about him is that he works in town, and his good prospects never materialize. Paul's...

• Word Count: 1238
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... also gather at occasions such as birthdays, baptisms, weddings, and graduations. This gives us a chance to catch up on things that are new in our lives. Father is still considered head of the family and mother is responsible for the home matters but in today's society both take a role in ... status. When in need, often family members are willing to help others out if there are economical or social problems. We often discuss our many problems with our family members who frequently help us work them out. In tradition, Hispanics are known to be very family orientated. The Hispanic "family .....

• Word Count: 557
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... older brother and two younger sisters. I can recall her drinking as far back as to when I was ten years old. It could be at a family friend's home or our home, the place did not matter. My mother was a pleasant drinker, she was never belligerent or sloppy. Her actions always left me feeling sad and disappointed. I moved out ... crying and said my mother had been drinking a lot. My father was on a business trip and her drinking seemed to increase when he had to go out of town. My sister asked if there was anything I could do to try to get her to stop. I tried to offer comfort, but in reali...

• Word Count: 1030
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... and downstairs. At the top of the stairs was a brown door that locked with a skeleton key. That was the door to our apartment. I spent a lot of time behind that door for the three days that my parents were out of town. My first night was the worst. I was so afraid to be up there all by myself. All I could think about was ... got very sick to my stomach and nervous. I started feeling like something was wrong. I turned to my wife and told her that something was going to happen that would change our life. She looked afraid and asked me if it was bad, and I said, "Yes." I could not eat anym...

• Word Count: 1239
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... into my family? My name is Josh Thayer; I am the first born into my family and have one other brother, who is four years behind me. I grew up in a small town twenty miles away, in a small cluster of houses in what today is called a sub-division. In today's society my parents and what they believe might be considered "old school" beliefs ... would be late. He believed that if you said a specific time it was your responsibility to make it there on time. My family perceives time as being very important in our lives. They don't live their lives by the minute, but are always looking a planni...

• Word Count: 942
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... -father lived when he and my mom got married. We lived their until my mother finished her Midwifery Degree at Emory and decided to move to a classified "white" side of town. My mother is a Nurse-Midwife and her practice is nestled in Athens when her clientele harvests mostly Hispanics with a minority in Asian and Caucasian. Through the majority, she was able ... they must go through to even be in America. She was also the kind of woman who gave a homeless man a meal we*ve just prepared and offer him a seat at our table. When he asked for work, my mother showed him small household chores ...

• Word Count: 1049
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... have become very lazy and laid back we don"t take time to get to know people or help out in the community around us. If we are at work when our children come home from school we expect them to come home and take care of themselves it used to be that if you couldn"t watch your kids or you just ... needed a little help doing something you could call up our neighbor and ask them for some assistance in doing so. But we don"t take the time to get to neighbors so I ask you today how can we do the same ... , we cant because few people want to take time away from their precious lazy lives to do...

• Word Count: 884
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate