Disillusionment of Ten O'clock Response

Disillusionment of Ten O’clock Response:

I feel that this poem was trying to get across that normal, regular, and boring people will not dream such dreams of excitement where there are cool colors and interesting things like catching tigers and baboons and periwinkles but they will dream of things like boring houses that are haunted by normal white-night gowns. Interesting people and people that don’t just live normal lifestyles will dream of such things listed above in the first sentence. This poem is all about how different people will have different dreams. I think that this poem is a perfect example of how people get along with each other and how different personality types blend when put together.

My Poem: Eldorado By: Edgar Allen Poe

Eldorado

Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old—
This knight so bold—
And o'er his heart a shadow
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow—
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be—
This land of Eldorado?"

"Over the mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied—
"If you seek for Eldorado!"

Partner's Poem Response: Psalm 23

Partner’s Peom: Psalm 23

I feel that this poem or writing was really trying to get across that the word of God will always be true. Me being in the position of not really caring about religion, I feel that this was still a good message to the followers of Jesus Christ. Psalm 23 was written by David who was one of the disciples I think. He basically followed Jesus around and agreed with him on everything that he said or something, I’m not very familiar with this stuff. But religious opinions aside, I feel like this is a good writing in the way that it defines God and christianity if you do believe in it.

This I Believe Essay

There Is Always a Way Out

Morris Mchawia Mwavizo - Nairobi, Kenya

As heard on The Bob Edwards Show, March 1, 2013

In his early childhood days, Morris Mchawia Mwavizo learned a life lesson by watching ants that were determined to get out of a trap. With that same sense of self-determination, he found that he, too, could find a way out of poverty into a life he chose for himself.

When I was growing up, I loved capturing ants and trapping them in mud cell walls that were either too high for the ant to climb over, or so wet that it would probably drown. And every time I would do that, I would be amazed at the determination that the ant would have to get out of whichever place it was in. The ant would struggle to get out, hour after hour, going from corner to corner, even though there might have been no way out. And it is this determination of finding a way out on which my life’s principles are founded. I believe there is always a way out of any situation you find yourself in. I have believed in this from my early childhood days and that belief has raised me into who I am.

When I was in school, I wanted to become a writer—to work in a media house and study writing and journalism. But life took on a bitter twist after my parents broke up and I found that although I passed form four with flying colors, college was not an option for me.

I took on several jobs, and was at times so broke that buying paper for writing was not an option. But through it all, I found a way to keep writing. I wrote on the insides of the paper that wrapped maize flour. Wrote on papers I picked up on the streets. I worked as a hawker during the day and wrote poetry and short stories in the evenings, hundreds of which I lost. I trained and worked as a carpenter and still dreamt of writing one day. To keep my dream alive, I wrote about wood and carpentry. In whichever circumstances I found myself, I never lost hope because I believed there was a way out. I found myself working in a construction firm and while there, I started an online course for writing. My fellow employees thought I was a joke. I tore up used cement bags and wrote on the insides of them.

It took me more than a decade of dreaming and three years of study to get certified as a writer. And at 34, I have written for international papers, had my work published in magazines, and have worked for three media houses, all because I believed there was a way out.

Writing has changed my life. I found a way out and it provided a way out of poverty for me. I believe it matters not where you are and what you are going through. There is always a way out. All you have to do is keep looking for it.