Wild

She stared at the mirror. The empty wild eyes that stared back at her were frightening and unfamiliar. Her dirty hair was lank and hung around her neck without a purpose. She didn't care anymore. Nothing mattered to her anymore. No one knew her anymore. As she looked at her crazed reflection, she remembered that the only thing keeping her sane was gone. The reflection was the last thing she saw before the anger and sadness took over. She was lost forever.

Island

Paradise. The beautiful waters almost touch the gigantic palm trees. Coconuts litter the sands. Daydreaming, thinking, walking, so peaceful. Setting over the ocean, the sun is so magnificent. A gorgeous picture that is worth a million words. Breathless, staring at the glorious sunset. Falling in love with this place, jumping into the bathlike water. Swimming, floating, happy.

Great Expectations Paper

The inside of the house is darker than a moonless night. Bars cover the windows to prevent sunlight and anything else from entering or leaving. Roaches and other critters crawl through the many decade old food, laid out for what was supposed to be a happy event. The clocks are all frozen at nine twenty, the very time my heart was cruelly broken. I will never forgive him, that man who ruined everything for me. Everyone deserves to be hurt as I was. In Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, this was Miss Havisham’s dark view of the world. It was before she learned the importance of forgiveness, and how to forgive. Forgiveness was, is, and always will be one of the most important traits found in a person.

Havisham plays a very important role in Dickens’ masterpiece. She is a representation of those who have been burned or scorned by the people they love. Holding onto the anger and pain like a steel trap for decades, Havisham aims to hurt everyone as she once was. Although she wasn’t the main character, that was her tragic flaw. It took her too long to realize that you cannot hold onto that pain. All it did was hurt her and those around her.

Eventually Havisham learns how to forgive everyone who hurt her. The fire that engulfs her is a symbol of cleansing. It cleansed her soul of all the hatred and anger, turning her into a new person. She forgives Estella for not returning her “love”. “That girl’s hard and haughty and capricious to the last degree, and has been brought up by Miss Havisham to wreak revenge on all the male sex.” (p. 175) Havisham pretty much created another monster just like herself. Estella becomes just like her, because that’s all she ever knew. No one ever showed her how to be different.

Of all the forgiving characters in the novel, Joe and Biddy were the ones that stood out. Joe is a symbol of true love. He never tried to control or hurt Pip and didn’t even get angry when Pip was being difficult and rude. Always forgiving, Joe was a role model for Pip, though Pip wasn’t bright enough to follow his lead. Joe was never good enough for Pip. Biddy was also very forgiving. Pip said some very rude and mean spirited things to Biddy, and she forgave. “I observed to myself one evening that she had curiously thoughtful and attentive eyes; eyes that were very pretty and very good.” (p. 125) Eyes are a symbol of the soul which means Biddy has a good soul. If Pip would of paid attention to the things right in front of him instead of wishing for Estella, he might of ended up happily married with Biddy. Of course, he made the wrong decision and decided to chase after Estella.

Flames jumped onto me. I do not know how it started or what happened, but next thing I knew I was drenched in fire. As the flames burned away at me, everything became clear. I hurt others. I hurt them the way I was hurt so long ago. It was wrong, so very wrong. Remorse swallowed me whole. It was clear to me that to forgive was the right thing to do. I forgive Estella for not loving me back, because I have loved her all these years. Screaming in pain and excitement for my epiphany I ran from the house into the daylight. Pip looked at me crazily. I knew I was going to die. What a good way to end my life. Finally, after so long, I felt good. Whole. Before I blacked out, I realized that forgiveness was, is, and always will be the most important thing found in a person.

Patriots Pen

Veterans. What does this word mean to us? To most, it means previous soldiers too old or somehow physically or mentally unable to carry on in the service. You can describe them any way you want, but they really are hard working men and women who sacrificed a lot for our country.
So many people died in previous wars and battles, and veterans are the survivors. They could’ve been shot or captured, and may have been, yet they still went out and fought for our country. I bet many of them lost loved ones in the service, or watched their friends die. Such great sacrifices for a nation of which they don’t even know most of the population. Why do they do this? Love. Love for our country, love for what’s right, love for the hundreds of millions of people they don’t even know.
We make sacrifices. I’m sure everyone makes great sacrifices every day. But, most of them don’t deserve the recognition we give veterans. They put their lives on the line for us, they deserve all the honor and medals they get. It’s not about the recognition, honor and medals, though. Fighting to keep the country safe is what’s right. Without them, life for us wouldn’t be the same. So many things could have been different if brave men and women wouldn’t of gone out and fought for us. Their sacrifices can’t be ignored. They’ve done so much for us, we should repay them as much as possible.
Everywhere I go, veterans are honored. That’s how it should be. No matter what happens, I know they always will be honored, because the sacrifices they have made for us are too great to go unnoticed. We should all honor veterans, because most of them suffered life long injuries to protect us and our country.

Leaf

The leaves swirl around us as we walk down the small dirt path. Just me and you, you and I, no one else. You take my hand as we walk, I sigh. Wishing we could stay like this forever, just walking. Walking nowhere, just to be. To be with you longer. Already dreading that moment that has to come, the moment you let go.