The Biggest Nightmare
Rating: 5.0
It was a hot summers day. Everything around me was slowly starting to melt: the trees,
the houses, the sky and the pathway to my garage. It seemed that I was about to melt
down myself, so there would only be a small puddle of glue-like substance left on the
ground. I was walking very slowly. My head felt huge and heavy, and every muscle in my
body was sore. My arms and legs were barely responding to the signals that my brain
was sending to them. It felt like a slow-motion horror movie, only it was happening live. I
finally reached the front door and touched the handle. The path that took only a second
for my eyes to see, took about twenty minutes for my body to accomplish. But, I was
finally at my goal.
I slowly turned the handle of the door, only to realize it had barely moved. I took all the
strength that I had left in my body and pressed the handle again. No success. I turned
around, leaned against the door, and slowly slid down to the ground. I felt faint. My head
was spinning. I was so thirsty that I could barely think about anything else. I had to get
inside; had to pull myself together and open the door. Otherwise, I would faint here, near
the front entrance to my own house, which was not the scenario Id prefer. I pulled myself
from the ground and faced the door again. I closed my eyes for a second, took a deep
breath, opened them, and pushed the door knob as hard as I could, at the time. It gave
way grudgingly. If it wasnt for the helpless shadow of a man that I was at that moment, I
would definitely have screamed in happiness for finally winning, over this stubborn door
knob. But, all I could settle for right then was a weak smile, and a deep sigh of relief.
I went inside, and had to wait for a minute before I could make out anything. It was too
dark, still very hot and, somehow, very lonely inside. By the time my eyes adapted to the
darkness inside, I could tell no one was around. What time was it? And where was
everyone? The house was completely and scarily quiet. The silence was unnatural. There
was no sound coming from the working fridge, or ticking clock; nothing. I went to the
kitchen to get some water, opened the tap and put an empty glass under it. But there
was no water, not even a drop! The glass remained empty. This seemed like a complete
nightmare. I must be dreaming! I felt like the world had died out, everything had stopped
and, somehow, I was forgotten here all alone, left to die from thirst and heat.
I was having a panic attack. With the anger and strength that came out of nowhere, I ran
from one room to another, looking for anyone. Mom, Josh, dad, Charlie no one was to be
seen. The dogs were gone too. What is wrong with the place? Again, for the third or
fourth time, I caught myself thinking this was just a bad dream. But, my body still felt
very much sore, and I could vividly feel the pain. Having no clue of what else, except the
pain, could help me distinguish between dreaming and reality, I had to accept the fact
that I was living this nightmare for real. Suddenly, I heard a sound coming from
downstairs. It was a very slight, faint sound that repeated in a second, only louder. I ran
downstairs, feeling a little scared, and, at the same time, hoping that it was someone, or
something, that could explain to me what was going on.
The living room was empty. The sound was coming from outside the back porch, and it
was increasing in loudness with every new cycle. It reminded me of when dad and I went
rowing, and every time dad turned over the oars, they made the same whistling sound,
cleaving the air. I ran outside the back door, and was almost brought down to the ground
by the strength of the wind. It was a helicopter, right above me, coming onto me. I lay on
the ground, screaming, but I couldnt hear my own voice through the noise of the
implacable vanes getting closer, and freezing me to the ground
Jason, honey, wake up! Its just a dream, babe. You look so pale. Are you okay? My
mom was standing next to my bed, trying to calm me down, as I was still screaming and
flapping my arms. The air was on, and the fan above my bed was making that particular
whistling sound with each turn.
My Unusual Vacation
Rating: 5.0
Travelling has always been a passion of mine. Being a photographer, I find seeing new
places, meeting new people and getting to know different cultures, exceptionally
inspiring. By the age of 32 I had already been to the majority of exotic places: the
Emirates, Ethiopia, Turkey, India, Laos, Thailand, Japan, Egypt, Malaysia, New Zealand,
Australia and Cuba. So, when a friend of mine who was working as a Peace Corps
volunteer in the Ukraine invited me to visit him for a couple of weeks, I thought: Why
not?! I do not know what to expect from this country since I know very little about it. So,
it will definitely be an interesting experience! And I was so right about that.
Ukraine turned out to be completely different from everything I have seen so far. A post
Soviet Union country, it is still struggling to build a developed society. But, being a
photographer, I was far more interested in nature, people and sites, than in politics.
Ukraine appeared to be a beautiful, even gorgeous country. Being slightly smaller than
Texas, it is extremely diverse and is full of natural wonders that take your breath away.
Kyiv, the capital city, appeared unexpectedly well-groomed, green and wealthy. Lots of
bridges across the Dnipro River, a great number of beautiful parks, a couple of botanical
gardens, and many, many flowers everywhere you go. A lot friendlier than you would
think. Next we went to the western Ukraine with its own peculiar culture and atmosphere.
The Carpathian Mountains are gorgeous and very authentic, with small distant villages
and little country houses that seem like the progress will never reach them. An amazingly
romantic place! I had been there in late May, but my friend says these mountains are
beautiful all year round a great hiking spot for spring, a beautiful tent camp landscape
for summer and autumn, with tiny fast mountain rivers that amazed me with their
pureness, and a couple of perfect skiing resorts that do not yield to the Austrian or
Canadian ones even a tiny bit. People of Western Ukraine amazed me as well, especially
the elderly very smiley, very positive and very active. The west was basically the first
place to which my friend took me, and it made me fall in love with the Ukraine
completely. From the Carpathians we travelled to Lviv a gorgeous medieval city that is
somewhat similar to Prague yet is very special in its atmosphere: 800 year old castles,
wooden churches, gothic catholic temples and palaces, flowers at every corner and on
every window seal, original block pavement streets of the Old City (Stare Misto), and lots
of people in beautiful national clothes vishivanki (embroidered white shirts). Lviv is a
magical city and it fueled me with inspiration to see the rest of the country.
Next my friend took me to Zaporizhzhya an Eastern city with an impossible to
pronounce name and two thousand years of history. The city is built on two banks of the
River Dnipro, and has an island in the middle Khortitsa the biggest river island in the
world. The place is very spiritual no wonder that so many centuries ago the wild tribes
of skiffs and sarmates, and later the cossaks (famous Ukrainian soldiers of 1400-1600s,
that had a long moustache, a long forelock and wore wide red trousers), built their
fortifications on the Khortitsa Island. The City itself seemed to me to be still very Soviet-
like in its spirit and atmosphere, so it was interesting for me to take photos of their
famous dam with the huge Lenin statue pointing at it, and the factories that were once
the pride of the USSR and, amazingly, still successfully function for export purposes
nowadays.
Our next stop was Crimea a big heart-shaped peninsula that is washed by two seas
the Black Sea and the Azov Sea (the shallowest in the world, by the way), has beautiful
mountains, fantastic crystal caves and scenic deep lakes. Its a very picturesque place
so green, so virginal, so unlike anything I have seen before. The pictures I took at the
Crimea I consider to be one of the best series in my photo collection. We also attended a
wine festival in Koktebel, where they make pretty good local wine, visited Askania Nova
a marvelous biosphere reserve sanctuary established in the nineteenth century. A great
chance to get a scope of what the countrys nature was like some twelve hundred years
ago, still very much unpopulated and virginal.
There was one thought that didnt leave my mind, even for a second, during the whole
time I spent in Ukraine: I cannot believe that this country and its fantastic nature,
history and culture are so unknown to the rest of the world! Ukraine was a true
discovery for me, and one of those times when your expectations are nothing like what
you really see. I have visited this country two more times over the past three years, and
every time my impression got fuller and fuller. If you should ask me what place I can
recommend to those avid and blas travellers who seem to have seen it all, Id say
without a second of hesitation: Go to Ukraine! Whatever you will expect this will still
amaze and astonish you!
A Trip to the End of the World
Rating: 5.0
It was supposed to be another boring winter. Every year, as soon as that particularly
thick fog and white crisp snow covered the village of Ramsj, its three hundred
inhabitants would start spending all their free time indoors, either sleeping or trying to
wake up. This is what people mostly did in winter in Ramsj a small Swedish village
located right in the middle of nowhere, on the shores of a beautiful lake that, unlike the
inhabitants of Ramsj, never froze even during the most severe winter seasons. Winter
usually started very early in this part of the country, and it meant that all life would
hibernate almost completely for eight or nine months to come. Everyone was used to this
kind of weather here. Everyone but Lara. She came to Ramsj only three years ago, and
she still hasnt forgotten what life was like outside this sleepy hollow den.
Lara came to Ramsj to work at the local vineyard. She loved the work here. She just
wasnt into the whole Swedish moody depressive climate and lifestyle. A native of
Munich, Lara was used to having an active social life, a hundred and one acquaintances,
and a wide variety of places to go out to in the evenings. Well, one thing she didnt have
problems with here was getting acquainted. It seemed that two months after Lara had
arrived in the village, everyone already knew her, and some four months later she
already knew everyone here as well. Everyone being the three hundred and two
inhabitants of Ramsj, most of whom work in the vineyards or the local forestry.
Laras first two winters in Ramsj were scarily quiet and stress-free. It was not that she
didnt expect the place to be that way, but it seemed that she already had enough of the
quietness and relaxation to start finding it rather depressive. She craved for sunny days,
bright blue skies and smiley faces. That is why Lara long ago decided that this winter
would be different from the previous two that she had spent here. Lara decided it actually
wouldnt hurt to travel around a little, the only problem being that she didnt know what
was there to see in wintery Sweden. But then it suddenly occurred to her that she was
closer than ever to the fairy tale land that every child from anywhere in the world knows
about the Lapland. It was right there, a four-hour trip in her SUV and then another hour
and a half on the local transport that looked like a combination of a caterpillar tractor and
a land battleship. But, as scary as it looked, it was the only way to travel around in the
severe weather of the Scandinavian mountains.
When Lara finally got to the heart of Finnish Korvatunturi the residence of Santa Claus
she was already tired and sleepy. It was probably due to the Swedish careful and
deliberate lifestyle. But, as soon as she came closer to the small village house that
looked like a postcard picture, three cute little elves dressed all in green and with little
bells sewed to their cones, approached her. Two of them took Lara by each side and the
third one pointed at the house, speaking some weird language and talking in a very weird
childish voice, half-laughing and half- whispering. That is just as much as it took for Lara
to start feeling like she was part of the fairy tale. Being a clear-eyed 27-year-old woman,
she suddenly felt like a gullible little girl who woke up in the fairy tale. Lara followed the
elves inside the house, and suddenly felt so warm, so comfortable and so at home.
The elves pointed at the old brown arm chair by the fireplace, and ran away, leaving the
sounds of their contagious joyful laughter ringing in Laras ears. The girl hopped on the
arm chair, tucked her legs underneath herself and stretched her arms towards the warm
vibes of the fire. She didnt even notice when an old man with a big white beard, dressed
all in red, quietly approached her by the side and gently put his right arm on her
shoulder.Well, hello there, dear. Youve grown up so much since your last visit, my girl.
Vienna.. Summer.. Love..
Rating: 5.0
This was supposed to be a rather boring summer. A girl named Olivia came to the
picturesque city of Vienna, just to improve her knowledge of German and to visit some
art-galleries. Austria was always her passion, and when an opportunity occurred, she
didnt have to think about whether to go or not to go she instantly knew that shed
remember this vacation for her whole life. What she didnt know was the reasons that
would make this vacation so special. Olivia planed to spend most of her time studying
German and use the remaining couple of days to enjoy some sightseeing. After all,
Vienna was such a beautiful city, full of gorgeous architectural masterpieces, cultural
festivals and historical attractions.
Olivia did not plan on making any new friends just some random acquaintances would
do. Once the studying part of her three-week visit was over, she was happy to finally
enjoy the city and have a cup of authentic coffee that carried her away into the
daydreams of a romantic girl. Olivia was sitting in a coffee-house reading a local daily
Heute when she saw this good-looking and elegant young man. He was around 23-25
years old and he was wearing a blue polo shirt and straight navy pants, with some suede
shoes. He had a typically Austrian look blond straight hair, cut short on the sides, blue
eyes and high cheekbones. Everything was perfect about the way he looked, except the
eyebrow ring, which gave his overall sophisticated and intelligent look a sparkle of
rebelliousness and thus made him even more interesting.
Olivia belonged to a family with a military tradition her grandpa, her dad and now her
brother, were all officers so she had a very conservative idea about the way a real man
should look. And that image of her perfect prince wasnt that much different from what
the guy in front of her looked like except, of course, for the pierced eyebrow. While she
was examining the guy, Olivia didnt even notice that his eyes were now chained to her
as well. She was pulled out of her half-dreaming state when she heard this guy saying
her name. First completely surprised, Olivia then realized she was still wearing the nametag from her German-class.
His name was Mattias. He was a journalist and he worked in the office of the paper Olivia
was reading that afternoon. He just sat at the same table with a cup of espresso and was
trying to figure out what this cute girl was reading. They started talking and Olivia
realized that three weeks in Austria, was quite enough for her to start talking like a true
German. They had a lot in common passion for classic literature, good rock music,
photography and staying up late on summer nights. She did not even notice how quickly
it started to get dark outside. The night was warm, so Mattias walked her to the hotel.
And that is just the beginning of the beautiful love story that happened that summer
Life-Long Best Friends
Rating: 5.0
It was the 4th of July, 2000, Americas Independence Day. As usual on every
Independence Day since I was five, George and Terry, my two best friends, and I, went on
a picnic. I diligently carried out my chores, packed my picnic bag and off I went to collect
my friends. It is going to be a beautiful day, I thought to myself as I rode down the
street. Unknown to me, I was to learn that day that the good die young.
George and I were born on the same day. His father and mine were best friends from
their days in high school. Their story is very much like a novel or a movie about two lifelong best friends. They joined the marines and both got married the same year.
Interestingly, they had their firstborn on the same day. As fate would have it, George and
I became real close friends. I did not have a sibling, and George became my twin brother.
We did everything together and, interestingly, had similar talents. We were both
outstanding in soccer and played in similar positions. To put it simply, we were
inseparable. George had a big heart and was honest and caring. He would do anything
for his friends, especially me. He was the perfect friend.
We always held our little Independence Day picnic by the river. It was three quarters of a
mile west of our apartment. As the three of us rode noisily past the houses, fireworks
exploded loudly from the neighborhood. It was such a promising day. By the river, we
played soccer, swam and caught fish just a single, tiny and bony catfish. After having a
late lunch, we sat down and talked and laughed loudly. Then out of the blue, George held
my hand tightly. Promise we will always be best friends; that we will be exactly like our
dads? he earnestly pleaded with me. I cannot explain why, but a chill ran down my
spine. I had never seen George that serious before. I promise, I mumbled, barely
audibly.
It was almost dark and we had to rush home lest our parents got worried. Terrys home
was the nearest from the river. He shouted goodnight and rode into their compound. Next
was George. Remember your promise! he shouted as he turned to enter their
compound. Those words haunt me to this day. Out of nowhere, a sports car swerved
around the corner and headed straight at us. George! I cried out as I swerved to avoid
the oncoming car. The next thing I heard were skidding tires and a loud bang.
I was in a daze. I saw people screaming and running towards where the car had stopped.
I think I passed out. When I came to, I saw Georges mother holding a bloody, lifeless
body, weeping hysterically. The reality of the situation hit me like a thunderbolt.
Inexplicably, my legs became weak. The earth started spinning wildly. I felt like a strong
wind was lifting me up; I was swimming in the air. Then all of a sudden the wind stopped.
I was unable to swim again and fell down with a thud. When I regained consciousness, I
was in my bed. Mum was sitting beside me, and I could see she had been crying. Why
him? I asked her in frustration. She just cried, and I cried too.
The death of my best friend shook me to the core. I was angry, bitter and inconsolable.
How could God take him away so soon? There were so many unscrupulous people
around, but God chose to take George. Life was never going to be the same again
without George. A million friends could never replace him, or even one million angels, I
thought. Then one evening, I was sitting with my mother after tea, and I asked her,
Mum, does God love us? If He does why does He hurt us so badly? With loving, teary
eyes she looked at me and said, God loves us so much son. He takes the righteous when
they are still little, before the world can hurt them, and makes them angels.
I feel George next to me, following whichever path I choose, because he is the most
faithful of friends. He is my angel now.
Example of a Strong Narrative Essay
Intro
On an otherwise calm and uneventful day, I heard what sounded like an enormous train, derailed
from the tracks and coming straight at me. As I put the mattress over my head, I suddenly
remembered that my roommates had not made it home yet. I had to make a decision quickly. Do
I stay under the mattress and be a coward, or do I go and try to find my friends?
Thesis
It is important to try to help your friends, even if it puts you in harms way. I learned this one spring
day, when a twister tore through downtown Ft. Worth. I could have stayed in my closet with my
cat, a mattress over my head and a radio, but in hindsight, I am glad I braved the storm to look for
my friends.
Body Paragraphs
En route, I watched the bent anarchy of rebar, walls, glass and unidentifiable structures, gnarled
and toothy, as they paraded in a watercolor swirl in the aluminum windows. Driving the route from
our house to downtown that they would have traveled, the song A Bridge Over Troubled Water
came on, which was fitting to the situation. By the time I approached downtown, the wind had
ceased and an eerie stillness settled in. Puddles stretched out in front of me, threatening to engulf
the whole town. What I noticed first about the water everywhere was the absence of artificial light
reflecting back at me. Night had fallen and because of the tornado all of the streetlights were out. I
thought to myself
This is what night is supposed to look like.
I noticed that even the marquis lights were out. All of the buildings were dark and anonymous;
none bared the logo of a corporate tenant. I witnessed natural night, just as people had before
humans preferred artificial sunlight. For, as far as the eye could see there was not a working
conduit for electricity to pass through, nor could I hear that distinct buzzing in the air. There was
only me, Simon and Garfunkel on the radio, and the glimpses of scared people hiding under
disjointed facades of the less-affected buildings. Stepping out the car, I saw the moon finding its
face in the stillness of the oblong puddles below me. The power lines looked like the teeth of a
boxer after a brutal fight; they were going every which way in a haphazard arrangement.
I found my friends car, in the aftermath, trapped in debris. I was terrified! What happened to
them, I wondered. I looked across the street and among a crowd of astonished and frightened
expressions; I finally located my friends. I saw from the ghost-white expression on my friend Leahs
face that she was in shock. My other roommate (and friend) was talking amongst others who were
injured. He was helping the bartender pour shots of whiskey to calm the people down, since the
refuge they had found happened to be a bar. Leah had a piece of glass embedded in her arm and
bloody knees; my other roommate had deep cuts on the palms of his hands. Leah told me that she
was caught running from her car to this building to seek shelter, and when she opened the heavymetal door to the bar, the tornado picked her up like rag doll and slammed her knees into the
asphalt. They did not need an ambulance, so I ushered them to my car. I was met with reluctance
when I insisted that they go to the emergency room. Arguing the whole way, I drove them to the
emergency room. They were admitted to triage, and the doctor said that Leahs gash in her arm
needed stitches, and she needed a tetanus shot. They disinfected their wounds, and a few hours
later, we went home.
Conclusion
Even though my friends might have fared okay without me, I am glad that I could help them out.
Since, Leah was in shock, she was not aware of the seriousness of her injuries and probably would
not have sought medical attention without my coaxing. If I am faced with a life-threatening
situation again, I will come to the aid of my friends. Hopefully, this sentiment will not be challenged
any time soon.
I remember when I went scuba diving for the first time. It was the summer of 2002. My Dad, his two
friends Mark and Bob, and I went on a scuba diving trip to San Carlos, Mexico with a group of scuba
divers from June 21st-29th.
It was June 22nd, a beautiful day. The temperature was at about 90 degrees and it was very sunny. I
was on big nice scuba diving boat along with the other eight divers on the trip and captain and cocaptain. The boat was headed to an island about two hours away called "Seal Island"; it was called that
because of all the sea lions that inhabit it. When we arrived at the island the captain stopped and
anchored the boat. I immediately jumped in the water and started snorkeling while all the other divers
were still on the boat putting on their scuba equipment.
After being in the water for about two minutes wearing only a bikini, I started feeling this stinging
sensation all over my body. After about another minute or so the stinging got so bad that I had to get
out of the water and back on the boat. When I got on the boat I found that I had welts on every inch of
my body that wasn't covered by my bikini. I had been stung a numerous times by a jellyfish. The
captain of the boat, Chuey, a Mexican man who couldn't speak English poured this liquid substance all
over my body, and immediately made all the stinging go away. I knew then that when I got back in the
water I would have to wear a wetsuit.
A little while later, after I recovered from the jellyfish stings, I put on my wetsuit, weight vest, regulator,
BC, tank, fins, and mask, all the equipment essential for scuba diving. I was pretty nervous about going
down, so the instructor, a man named Punk Potter (really that's his name) went over all the steps
equalizing, breathing, and reassured me everything is going to be okay and to just relax.
Finally, after lots of reassuring and encouragement I jumped in the water. The instructor went down with
me. We took it slow and gradually started going down. I was breathing pretty fast at first from being
nervous, but I gradually started to relax. We kept going further and further down until we reached the
bottom at 42 feet below the surface. On the way down I saw schools of angelfish and many other fish
that I couldn't identify.
When I got to the bottom I saw two moray eels that were really scary looking. I kept my distance from
them, for I could see that the whole roof and bottom of the inside of their mouths were covered with
razor sharp teeth. I saw a crab that was humongous, it was about 2 by 2 feet big. I saw plenty of
jellyfish that I now didn't care for because of the earlier encounter that I had with one. I saw a manta
ray that was amazing. It was beautiful how it just glided through the water so gracefully. I wanted to
grab onto it and go for a ride like you see on TV, but I was a little too scared to do that just yet. It was
the coolest visual experience of my life, seeing a whole different world something that not everyone gets
to see like I did.
On the way back up towards the surface I saw a sea lion that was about the size of my Dad. It seemed
like it just appeared out of nowhere and popped up right in my face. It scared the daylights out of me. It
was curious about what I was, for it was swimming circles around me, looking me up and down, and just
staring at me in the face. I'm sure that I looked like an alien to it with all of my scuba equipment on. It
was so cute. The sea lion reminded me of my dachshund at home, Roxy, except a lot bigger and with it's
ears cut off.
I swam up to the surface after being down for 45 minutes. I was so happy and excited when I got back
on the boat. I told everyone of my experience. It was the coolest experience of my life. I went five more
times on that trip and there will be many more in the future. It made me feel very brave, for scuba
diving takes a lot of guts and not everyone can do it. It is a very dangerous and risky sport. You can die
anytime by making just one of the many possible mistakes. I am very proud of myself for doing this. I
think that by doing it, it revealed about my character that I am a risk taker, brave, and curious to see
and experience new things.
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