Thornton Academy – AP Language 2018-2019

I can not even begin to make a sad attempt at explaining why I experience stress at the levels I do as an 18 year old. I don’t recall signing some sort of disclaimer when I popped out of the womb saying this life would include high levels of stress every once in a while. I never asked for this.

This unwelcome guest needs to find its way out just as quickly as it found its way in. No one ever invited this bothersome pest to come reside within my body. All this guy does is just eat away at my insides, clawing it’s way into my nerve endings. It causes migraines, nausea, anxiety, mood swings, and the occasional breakdown. None of those symptoms are enjoyable in the slightest, and I don’t want to continue feeling them as often as I do.

It blows my mind how the typical high schooler in the United States has the same stress levels as a psychiatric ward patient in the 1950s. That makes me sick. That fact alone screams help.

Maybe that’s what I need: help. But how do I ask for help? How do I vocalize my emotions without sounding vulnerable? How do I ask the right questions for guidance in these difficult times without sounding defeated?

I wonder if this is me trying to wave my white flag and just say “I give up.” What if I did give up? What if I just said “screw it” and let the monster inside of me eat me alive until there’s nothing left?

Nothing.

What an ominous word. Seven letters, two syllables, yet has so much power and so much meaning. When I think of the word nothing, I think of despair, failure, lost hope, and defeat. So I guess you could say the word nothing has a negative connotation according to how I think about the word and how it ties into my internal struggles.

Nothing.

I hate that word. It makes me feel worthless. It makes me feel like I let the monster inside of me win. I cave in and let it consume my entire being so much I get lost in the whole idea of my perception of the word “nothing”. It brings me to this dark place with no light in sight to help me find the way out. I’m trapped in its void with no easy exit.

The only way out is to persevere. Get rid of the word nothing, and replace it with something.

Something.

Now that’s a little more hopeful. I start to see the light and escape the void of nothingness. The monster inside of me begins to die off letting me gain access to my body and my brain again. The cobwebs get dusted away by this newfound sense of purpose.

I’m too sick and tired of letting stress get the best of me. It’s time for a change. It’s time to turn that nothing into something and find my purpose and my drive. I know I have purpose in this life. Why else would I be here? All it takes is some time to find it.

Truman Capote was a famous author most well known for his books Breakfast at Tiffany’s and, delving in the contrasting genre of true crime, In Cold Blood, both of which gained critical success at the time of their release and that still capture the public’s attention now.

Capote began writing early on in his life, creating numerous stories, some even in his teenage years, before his publishing of Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1958, and In Cold Blood in 1966. He garnered attention with his short story, Miriam, a sorry that was successful enough to land him a contract with Random House, leading his to start the journey of writing his very first novel. Capote is also known for his tight friendship with hailed author of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, a relationship so close that she even inserted a character in the novel based off of Capote, at least according to him that is.

In addition to his status as an acclaimed novelist, Capote was openly homosexual, a fact that during the time he lived, provided a bit of scandal and intrigue to his life to say the least. It seems as though he was very open about his sexuality, and though not an outright activist for gay rights himself, his openness about himself and his celebrity status helped push the movement all the same.

Capote was a pivotal writer for his time, his works still managing to keep a lasting impact long after his death. His most well known works were converted to film, films that remain classics in the modern world. His stories are still read, and he is still discussed. Despite the fact Capote did not contribute any more novels after In Cold Blood, and his later (and last) years were filled with drug and alcohol problems that later resulted in his death, Truman Capote remains, and hopefully will continue to be, a writer remembered for his exquisite stories.

 

 

All formalities aside, Hanoi is best appreciated from first-hand experiences. I shall love Hanoi for better or for worse, till death do us part.

Hanoi carries its beauty through the years. The rise of skyscrapers display the city’s developing pace. When the sun goes down, these skyscrapers light up like fireflies. However, Hanoi shrinks into humility as it glows from the ordinary, yellow-painted tenements. The tenements are usually very small and low in heights. Most families added another another section to the house so as to have a tiny balcony; if you are stopping at a traffic light on a motor scooter while riding nearby a tenement neighborhoods and you suddenly look up, you might catch sight of the beautiful flowers that families put on their balconies. And you might turn your head to one side and think, “How lovely.”

Ranked as one of the world’s greatest 18 cities for food by the Telegraph, Hanoi presents an amazing range of cuisines, from pizza to phở. There are restaurants and “quán” (a more informal and cozy kind of restaurants) that would match up to your appetite any day. If you are down to try Japanese Italian pizza with a little twist, Pizza 4P’s offers delicious, original pizzas, while also steadily remains in the spotlight for their “Crab Tomato Cream Spaghetti with Ricotta Cheese.” On the other hand, if you feel like dining the way of locals, may I introduce you to “quán” on pavements. It is widely known that the food on the sidewalk takes pride in some of the best taste. You can find all types of Vietnamese dishes in these specialized “quán,” including the world-famous phở noodle soup with beef or chicken, bánh cuốn (steamed rice rolls), and chè with plenty of flavors (Vietnamese sweet soup), which is also a common dessert in Vietnam.

For me, Hanoi is home and an adventure, both at once. There will always be new things to see and to do, yet there will always be a nest to return to at the end of the day.

Being a pet owner is one of the most fun jobs in the world, if it is even considered a job. However, it takes a lot of commitment to raise a well behaved, domesticated animal. For example, my family owns two dogs, and despite them both being fun and loving, there are times when they drive you crazy.

The oldest of my family’s two dogs is named Ghetti. He is about 5 years old and is a medium sized dog. He is a rescue dog, so he is a mix of many different breeds, but is mainly hound. My family adopted Ghetti a couple of weeks after our first dog, Zoe, passed away. He is generally more well behaved and is a very friendly, playful dog. The only bad thing is his barking, but he only barks at people or dogs passing by the house because he is being protective of our other dog.

That other dog is a 9 month old rescue dog named Sunny. She was adopted last June, simply because my sister and dad had been pleading with my mom for another dog, and finally, she submitted. However, it was not long before Sunny’s craziness made everyone reconsider adopting her in the first place. She is a nonstop ball of energy and will greet you by jumping at you crazily, her entire butt shaking at the speed of her wagging tail. Because of Sunny’s antics, Ghetti never gets any peace and quiet because Sunny is always following him around, playing with him, or biting at his legs. When she gets bored of annoying Ghetti, she turns to mischief, and will get her mouth on whatever she can find.

These two dogs, while loving, can both be annoying and mischievous. However, that is part of being a pet owner. Staying faithful to your pets through thick and thin is what will make them stay faithful to you in return.