Place Paper

My brother just kept on spitting out "come on, Maggie. I know you can do this". I couldn't help but believe him, so yet again, I climbed the ladder. I arrived at the top of the boathouse, and I crept across the black gravel laid out on the roof of the building. It was burning on my feet, since the gravel had absorbed the heat from the sun. Finally, I edged myself to the step up that was the edge. It was metal, so now it was scorching on my feet; even worse than the gravel. I stood there and felt my stomach fill with butterflies. I heard my brother and Daniel acting like typical monkeys and both were taunting me like monkeys--(oops! I mean brothers) do. They yelled things like "don't chicken out this time". It was Samantha and Mara who were cheering me on. I gawked at the rippling water, tightened the straps on my black and yellow life jacket, and shut my eyes tight. I began to dream of hitting the water and as i began to float away, i heard voices in the background slowly chanting: One for the money….. (the pause was endless), two for the show…. (I clenched my fists), three to get ready… (oh, god)… and four to….

The definition of the noun "place" is a particular position or point in space. It is thought generally that a place is a random location and in being random, it can appear to people that it lacks importance. The definition, however, indicates that a place is particular. This specifies that a "place" contains significance. However, the definition remains unsatisfying. The definition of the verb "place" is to put in a particular position. The issue with this definition is that place does not mean put. They are very different things. Typically a reader would skim by the word "particular", but without it, the definition is incorrect. Placing refers only to setting in a specific position. This is what sets it apart from the word "put". "Put" is a vague word. It appears, also, that this definition is unsatisfying. The derivatives of plac: "placebo",