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Page 1: Trust your struggles

By Noah Shackles

Page 2: Trust your struggles

Trust Your Struggle By Noah Shackles

 

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 Table  of  Contents  

 

Authors Note————————————————————————#

The Power of A Teacher———————————————————#

College Essay———————————————————————#

What it Means To Be a Military Child—————————————#

Fear————————————————————————————#

Social Media and Social Skills—————————————————#

Junior Colleges———————————————————————#

A Psalm of David———————————————————————# Fear (Poem)—————————————————————————#    

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It is quite inevitable that you will go through struggle at a certain point in your life. Some people have it easier than

others but no matter how easy your life is you will struggle at one point in time. I chose this theme because it is

something that everyone can relate to. We all have our different struggles whether it is physically or emotionally.

While I was looking through my classmates writing, struggle was a recurring theme in a least one of each persons work. I truly appreciate when people open up and write about their

struggles because it is definitely not an easy thing to do. I also chose this topic because I like writing that has good

meaning and purpose behind it. I like writing that speaks a message through them with strong emotions. It can be clear and on the surface or hidden deep within the metaphors and

analogies that the author creates. I really like when the author uses metaphors and analogies because it makes the

piece that much more interesting. In several pieces of writing the author uses metaphors to compare their pain to things such as nature or animals. Sometimes it is necessary to use these literary devices but at times it is not needed. Often

times the readers just want to read something that is short, clear, and straight to the point and I found several pieces that are like that. Because isn’t that what writing is all

about? To make people interested in what you have to say and to make them not want to stop reading. Well I believe if you have the ability to do this then you are no doubt a great

writer.

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The power of a Teacher (Matt Hoe) Before I could read, I would ask my mom to read me science encyclopedias as bedtime stories.I figured that I didn’t need fairy tales when reality was just as amazing. But then I started going to school. For me, school became a minefield of wrong answers and smudged graphite. It was a place where I learned to look down, conveniently avoiding the gaze of my teacher as she threw questions like bombs. On one occasion, my teacher confiscated my project because she said that I “wasn’t good enough to have made it myself.” School wasn’t a place of learning and wonder; it was a place of fear and programming. I eventually moved schools, and thanks to some amazing teachers, regained that sense of wonder that I had lost as a kid. But not everyone is as fortunate as I have been. Many fall through the cracks. I know this, because I almost did. This is the power that a teacher has. - I love Matt Hoe's writing because it is so descriptive and he uses such a strong vocabulary creating a strong image in your head. He uses metaphors such as" school was like a minefield of wrong answers and smudged graphite." He uses this metaphor describing that at such a young age school was not a fun place for him. It was more a place of war than it was a place of learning. This is hard for anyone to go through especially at such a young age but he eventually gains the strength to overcome it.

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College Essay (Matt Hoe) The night is cold, but I hardly notice. I am holding my dad’s weathered hand as I gaze into his eyes. I see joy and pain, regret and acceptance. But mostly, I see love. I lean down, and I hug him. With a final burst of energy, he musters enough strength to smile, and lightly touches my shoulder in return. We are living and loving, and the process of dying just happens to be taking place. My dad leaves this earth. These last two years have pushed my limits on emotional, physical, and spiritual levels. Sometimes I hid knives from my dad so that he wouldn’t commit suicide due to the pain, or chased him down the street while he was enduring pain-medication induced psychotic episodes. Towards the end, I helped him perform the most basic bodily functions, and eventually fed him like a child. I’ve clocked countless hours in the emergency room while studying for tests and doing homework. I even had the hospital on speed dial, which came in handy during the times that I found him overdosed on pain medication. - If you know Matt Hoe you will know that he is one of the

happiest guys you will ever meet. He is always full of energy putting life into your day. I had an idea about the struggles he was going through but I had never imagined it being this bad because he was so good at covering it up. His writing is so powerful that it brought me to tears. The story itself is already sad but the way he portrays it makes it even more sad. He is so strong as his father takes his final breath and I truly admire that about him. “We are living and loving, and the process of dying just happens to be taking place.” This line sums up his whole writing into one sentence, it is so powerful and descriptive. He is like an artist on a blank canvas painting a clear picture in my mind of the situation he was dealing with.

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What It Means To Be a Military Child (Noah Shackles) I wanna explain what it's like to be a military child because honestly it is not easy at all. I have grown up a military child my whole life so I would call myself an expert at it. Being a military child has it's benefits but it also has a lot of fallbacks. If you aren't flexible and you can't adapt well to change then you will not have a fun childhood at all. As a military child you are always moving from from place to lace and not knowing when and where. You have to be able to face the sacrifices. A lot of times you have to be able to accept things that aren't necessarily easy for your life. It is not easy at all for your father to be overseas fighting for your very own freedom. You have to sacrifice not being able to look into the stands at one of your games and see your dad there. As a matter of fact the only way to defeat that fear is to face it. I couldn't show that I was weak because my mom and sisters looked up to me to fill in his shoes. "It is time for you to step up" is the words that came out of his mouth before he walked onto his plane. It took a while for these words to sink but I took his words seriously and tried my best to make him proud. We moved all over the place but for me it wasn't that hard because I was in elementary school and I didn't really mind. However for my brother it was not easy at all. Can you imagine that in the middle of your high school career you have to move all the way across the country having to make new friends and having to lose all your olds friends. This is why it is so important to be able to adapt. I look up to him for what he does so much so I just have to bite my tongue. During these times I had to turn to my mom. She was so

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strong and I have no idea how she did it. She has five kids including me that she has to raise partially on her own while my father is overseas. She never ever showed weakness though and that is how I always stayed strong. I always wanted to be strong like her. Even when my father was home my two brothers were gone because they're also in the military but somehow she always found a way to stay strong. It means a lot to be a military child. In public people praise you and give you attention for having to make the sacrifices that I make. I never understood why because being a military child is all that I never knew. I realized that how huge that it really is because without the military our country would fall to pieces. - This is a narrative piece of writing telling a story about my life. I didn't use a lot of metaphors or other literary devices because I wanted to be clear and straight to the point. This paper means a lot to me because it really defines who I am as a person. I came a long way from being a young rebellious child to a mature young man. This essay explains how I have grown and what has pushed me a long the way. I wouldn't be where I am today without the struggles that I had to go through. I wanted to convey that in my paper that these struggles made me stronger.

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Fear (Noah Shackles) Fear. We all have fear. Even the toughest looking soldiers have fear. For me it was always the fear of the unknown, the fear of not knowing what is going to happen the fear of not knowing if my father is safe overseas, the fear of not knowing of what to expect when I walk into a new school, the fear of not knowing how my parents will react to the news I had to give them, and especially the fear of what the future has in store for me. These are all fears of the unknown because you begin to question yourself over and over and play in your head all of the horrible scenarios that could go wrong. However fear cannot really be escaped it can only be faced. Many people like to run away from their fears but let me tell you that it will do you no good. - I chose to write about fear because again it is something that everyone can relate to. I used a list to show all of my fears without being repetitive. No matter what your fear is when it comes down to it your fear is no different than the person next to you. However I believe fear is just the thoughts that we let ourselves believe. Some of these thoughts may be true but many of them are not.

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Social Media and Social Skills (Noah Shackles) As humans, we tend to avoid awkward or uncomfortable situations, by trying to start a conversation. But now, in today’s culture, we “hide behind our screens”. In order to avoid any unnecessary human contact, we glue our nose into our phones. It gives us comfort to have access to our friends at any moment. But how will we react to the uncomfortable atmosphere of our future job interviews? How will we survive the awkward encounters with people when it is unacceptable to be absorbed by our phone? There is a need for human connection in our psyche. We need to make a change to embrace the humanly behavior and refrain from turning into robots. - I believe social skill is something that is slowly starting to

fade away. The younger generations are so fixed upon technology that they get lost. This essay is good because it is so truthful. It is truthful in a way that most people don’t want to listen to it. Many people don't want to hear it because they don’t want to make the change in their life. "We glue our nose into our phone" is true! You could have a full conversation with someone but they wouldn’t even stop to listen because they are so busy on their phones. I think the vocabulary in this paper is very strong and it makes it very interesting. I really liked the comparison of human beings to robots because it is so true.

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Junior Colleges (Noah Shackles) Why is everyone so stressed out about college? I'll tell you why, it's because everyone puts so much pressure on us to go to a good school, to get good test scores, and build up a resume that supposedly determines the rest of our future. The beginning of this year all that was going through my mind was "oh my goodness where am I going to college?!!!" I was so stressed out about applying for college and the fact that I might not even get accepted. It was a lot of pressure for me especially because I felt like I had this expectation from everyone to go somewhere big, but instead I decided to go to a junior college and play baseball on a full scholarship. I do not care if this is not what other people had "hoped" for me because it is the decision that I know will give me the best future. -College is the number one reason that high school students are stressed way more than they should be. This is a major struggle that is mandatory you endure if you want to go anywhere in life. I like this piece of writing because it encourages people to stop trying to make others happy and just make themselves happy.

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A Psalm of David. 1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. -This piece of writing comes from the Book of Psalms from the bible. I like this piece of writing because of the analogies that is uses. It compares nature to human life reassuring you that everything is going to be okay. Whether you have faith or not this verse is encouraging! My parents instilled in me ever since I was a young kid to have a strong faith. I look at this verse when I am having a hard time to give me strength. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” The words are so deep and filled with emotion that there is no way you cant be motivated. These words are inevitably true and I believe it will help many people with their struggles.

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Fear

(Kurt Kanawa) I. the apparition i don't fear death, i fear never being born; i fear not my last breath, but all the breaths in between; how do i know i'm alive? II. the left foot for what purpose is the sun without its light? for what use are eyes without their sight? for what good is a left foot without the right? and for what joy is a string without its kite? will i ever be complete? III. father as branches grow to the shape of their roots, as vermillion bloodies every spring with a drop: could i escape original sin? could i become a better man-- could i become my own man? IV. aneurysm would lightning dare blaze up a tree that has yet to bear fruit? would the gods dare strike down an artist with a painting unfinished? fate is neither cruel nor fair. -The simple yet complex lyrics of this poem withhold meaning far beyond what is lying on the surface. I really love the first stanza because it asks “How do you know that you are

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living?”. The author really confronts the thought of death because he does not fear it. In the second and third paragraph he compares nature and manmade things to the human body. I really like the line “Branches grow to the shape of their roots.” He compares a tree to us humans. If a tree has strong roots then he would grow abundantly with many branches and leaves. Same with humans we will only grow as a person if we have good beliefs and deep down you know what’s right from wrong.

 

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Expository  Writing  Period  #  


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