You are sitting in your warm house on christmas morning with the excitement of seeing all the presents under your beautifully lit tree, what your not thinking about is that somewhere in the world at the same time there is a little girl sitting in her small, cramped two room house that she shares with her big family of six. While you are opening your all your extravagant gifts, your mom is preparing the feast for christmas dinner, the little girl your not thinking about is cold, and hungry, her parents only make enough money to afford the bare minimum, only the necessities. You are dreaming of the gifts you have received on this overly commercialized holiday while the girl is thinking about how she wishes her parents had enough money so she…
Growing up, it had always been just my mother and me. My biological father abandoned me at birth and hadn’t been heard from since. The sting of abandonment had me in and out of counselor’s offices for a few years, but I eventually grew to really enjoy the bond my mother and I had created. We didn’t have much money. In fact, even that would be an understatement. We were living in a trailer park, getting benefits from the state, and I learned at an early age the myth about Santa Claus because my mother couldn’t handle the guilt of trying to explain why my next door neighbors always got the presents they wanted when I didn’t. As afraid as she was of my reaction, I didn’t mind. I felt that I had everything I needed. I was close with most of my family and our trailer was comfortable and large enough to occupy the two of us. The park was essentially its own little neighborhood and all of us went to the same school, which meant I was surrounded by lots of friends. I never saw the need for money. The state provided us with Food Stamps to buy groceries, we went thrift store shopping on a regular basis that it became routine, and in the early mornings before the garbage trucks came, we’d drive around to see if anyone had thrown anything of…
I’ll turn the car around and pick up the man. I’ll walk into Ben’s mothers home hours late and they’ll all be so angry that I ruined their christmas. But then i’ll tell them the story of how I saved someone else's christmas. I’ll prove to them that i’m not some washed up dead beat who skips out on family togetherness because I can’t stand to see what i’ve ruined.…
The paragraph goes on explaining that Santa is the feeling of, "...love and generosity and devotion..." and that without them, and in connection Santa, humans wouldn't be able to battle life. That the, "... external light with which childhood fills the world would be…
All can relate to that one special time of the year, Christmas, when whole families unite and spend hours endlessly sharing stories, making memories, and of course, opening presents! What happens though, when all of the sentimental value of Christmas is replaced solely with physical value, the gifts? What would Christmas be like then? Richard Rodriguez takes the readers through one of his annual Christmases and brings to light, through his thoughts, the disconnect that exists between himself, his siblings, and his parents. Rodriguez’ chronological presentation of events with flashbacks, short, abrupt syntax, light-hearted attention to detail and concerned tone contribute to suggest his worried attitude toward his family.…
Christmas is a holiday celebrated around the world. Children wait all night the evening before for santa to place their gifts beneath the tree. Excitement rages from them the morning of December twenty-fifth; pretty wrapping paper and shiny bows glisten under the christmas tree lights while the bulbs upon it sparkle so elegantly. However, Christmas is not about all these aspects that it is displayed as. Christmas has more meaning than pretty gifts and how many gifts each child has under the tree. This holiday is above the amount of money one kid gets while the next gets so little. Though some see Christmas as a materialistic holiday, it has far more depth than so little meaning. The Holiday of Christmas contrasts greatly with celebrations…
Everything was so enjoyable the Christmas morning. All the young adults were mingling, all the kids were playing video games, and all the older adults, or elders, were bragging about achievements that their kids have accomplished throughout that year. One thing that I remember strongly is how all the cousins were getting along for one…
American families derive pleasure in viewing Christmas movies, and the hyperbolized plots give children and adolescents, the most influential individuals in society, unreasonable expectations, which affect their practicality. According to the website, “Problems with Christmas Curriculum,” published by Steven A. Gelb, the standard formula used to create the plot of hundreds of holiday movies, shows the same fantasized version of Christmas, which makes one’s choice of how they would want their holiday to take place, difficult. Although several individuals would like the reality of a holiday to more closely resemble the television-version, visual settings, reasons for celebrating, and the holiday’s ending make individual unrealistically expect a more romanticized version of Christmas.…
It was Tuesday, March first, 2011, my mother woke me up so I can start getting ready for school. I rose with eager anticipation, just four more days until my thirteenth birthday and I just couldn’t wait. I brushed my teeth and hurried down to eat the complimentary breakfast offered to us by the hotel we were staying at. You see we had been staying at a hotel for the past five months because the home we had been renting was foreclosed on so the utility companies turned off the power and the electricity. We had to get down at just the right time so that there was a small crowd but a lot of food so that we can take food back to the room to save for dinner. After breakfast, we…
Dad woke me up to have breakfast and to get ready to open presents. We had the normal breakfast, and got ready for the day. I got five presents including my stocking. Mom got a glass butterfly wind chime, a magnet with a red panda, and a polar bear. And a key chain with her name on it that I got at the KC zoo gift shop. Dad got a mug, a pair of Bluetooth ear buds and a firefly edition of monopoly we stayed at home for a few hours then we went to grandma Judy’s house I got two pairs of jeans, a tablet stand, and $70…
My report is on Mission Santa Ines which is 35 miles north of Santa Barbara among the rolling hills near the Santa Ynez River. The mission was established September 17, 1804 by Father Estevan Tapis as the 19th mission along El Camino Real.…
In Annie Dillard’s “An American Childhood” she takes us the reader back in time. She tells of the activities and games she played as a child, which also draws the reader in to her story more bringing back the same memories from their childhood. She sets the stage around Christmas time on a weekday in late December. Her and her friends were standing in knee deep snow along the road waiting for cars to pass by, an easy target for anyone who could throw a snowball. It was clearly a great day for hitting cars with all the traffic they encountered on Reynolds Street. After some time had passed Annie and her friends decided an ice ball was the way to go. So without further due they spread out and waited for the next victim. Sure enough a black Buick came close and they opened fire. As soon as one snowball struck the windshield something that had never happened before began. The man pulled over and the chase was on. After winding all over town on the chase the man finally caught them. Out of breath the man in a stern voice shouted “You stupid kids”. For Annie and her friends the thrill of the chase was a glory they wanted to last forever. It was surely a winter none of them will forget.…
because it was the holiday season, we had spent all of our disposable money on gifts. After AER turned…
Christmas 2010. I sit in my room, listening to Taylor Swift’s Speak Now album as I wait for our guests to arrive for my family’s holiday get together. I hear my brother call for me from down the hall. I oblige and head to the living room to find that my grandparents had arrived, and they were each carrying something. One carried in a TV for my brother and the other carried in my present, an acoustic guitar. My dad had tricked us into believing we weren’t getting anything this year and had hidden our gifts at our grandparents’ house.…
The gifts to my generation are phenomenal. They create our lives with factors or pieces that need to keep our lives together. Our lives are a game of chess. You need every piece to play the game. Mainly the kings and queens. Our kings and queens of the country are…