By Maria Arellano
At the beginning of the year, we all thought that 2020 was going to be our year. We all were going to start a fresh new chapter of our lives, that's what we thought. To be honest, this year has been like a roller coaster; we have seen plenty of things that happen through the past nine months.
The first two months and a half of this year, most of the time I was spending it with my friends and family. For the weekends if I was not with my friends I was spending time with my family.
Right before this whole pandemic, my family and I went to the Rodeo. That's one of my favorite memories from this year. We went during the first week of the Rodeo because cases of the corona virus were appearing in Texas also because we already had bought tickets for the rides and if we didn't go they were not refundable. Also, we went because a lot of people don't go during the first week. When we got there there were not a lot of people because it was about to be four in the afternoon and people normally come a little later. So when we got there the first thing we did was to go on the rides and games. In one of the first games that my siblings and I played, I was the winner. I won a giraffe stuffed animal. To win the game you had to make a tube go up by filling it up with water. We went on several rides and played other games until all of us got hungry. When we went to the food area there were a lot of booths that you could choose from. They were dessert, hamburgers, turkey legs and hot dogs and many to choose from. When we all had decided on what to get we went looking for a place where we could set down and eat. When we found the palace my sister and I just looked around and the rides looked like it was so lonely they're not people there. After we had finished, we decided to go on more rides. We notice it's still empty. It felt odd that they were not a lot of people because it was already getting dark but it was a good thing for us because the lines were shorter,so we didn't have to wait. What I liked was that I got to spend time with my family. We had spent time together for a while.
Little didn't we know that the rodeo was gonna close the week after we had gone due cases rising. Also,the same week on March 13 we didn't know that it would be the last time that we had our last regular school day for that school year. We all thought that right after spring break week we were going to go back to school to start working on practices for the STAAR tests but it didn't turn out like. Everything had changed in just a blink of an eye. Schools were closed, the whole world went on lockdown, social gatherings were not allowed, churches were canceled. Certain things were limited in the stores, several people lost their jobs. All of these things all happen at the end of March.
I feel like everybody thought that this pandemic was going to be a short term thing that right after this whole pandemic everything was going to be as it used to be but this corona virus has turned out to be a long term thing. In the beginning, when the whole world was in lockdown I felt that the day was going so slow. Felt that we were living the same day over and over. I say this because we weren't allowed to leave our house to go to places or go see my family members or friends. I feel that not being able to see my friends and family was the hardest thing during this whole pandemic because I was used to spending most of my time with them. Not being able to see the people that I love made me reflect on what people say on ”Never take for granted the people that you have around you because you don't know what will happen tomorrow”. Also during one dinner time, my mom and my sister, and I were talking about how several times during church they told us to not miss out on the assemblies just because you think that they are going to another next year because you never know if that assembly or church will be the last one. That also made me realize that they emphasize that because we don't know what will happen tomorrow.
When we used to be in school we used to complain about how we did not want to go to school and waking up to get ready for school we wish that vacation for summer would last a little bit longer. We all wanted that summer to last forever so we could enjoy our summer activities and hang out with friends. This year didn't turn out like the normal summers that we used to have. Most of us had to spend them staying at home trying to find something to entertain ourselves because we were running out of ideas on what to do inside our homes. After all, we had spent all spring break at home and schools didn't open after spring break. I feel like every little moment we could leave the house just to go to do simple errands. We took it because it meant we could leave the house just for a bit.
When it was time to go back to school it was so different from what we are used to because school was going to have two methods of going to school. One was going to be students that elected to go in person they have to follow safety precautions. The second option was going to be online. That meant students will learn at home. Online learning is very different from what we used to be used to before we used to have a teacher present and if we need help they come to help us. But in online learning, the teacher does not have enough time to help students because they have to try to maintain a balance between helping the students that are in class and also the students that online understand what they are teaching them. This made me realize that when we used to be in school some of us will complain about going to school now some of us want to go back to school because it's not the same as what we are used to. We never realize how much we will regret not valuing the opportunity to be able to go to school daily.
A lot of things have changed over the last nine months. We went from living daily lives like everything was normal. Taking precautions of what will happen tomorrow, wearing a mask for safety, not being able to see the people that we care about, employment rates going up, and many more. I can't believe that in two weeks we are gonna be in the last month of the year. This year has been a roller cost that went in a flash. The only thing that we can do it's to live the moment and hope things start to get better.
What inspired me to write this essay was that recently I was able to see one of my closest friends. I hadn't seen her since the beginning of March. I wrote how the year has been because when I was able to see my friend things were the same as we used to. I was not able to run up to her and hug her. We had to maintain a distance for the safety of her family and my family. It was different from what we used to do but the most important thing was that we were able to catch up and spend some time just talking like we used to. That made me realize that we had to just enjoy the moment day by day.
The title of my essay is Remember To Value The Moment. The main message of this essay is that we should not take for granted what we have instead we should value the moment because we really do know what will be tomorrow. A piece that I added to the essay to make it more vivid was adding my opinion of how I was feeling when I talk about how I never realize that I will be missing certain things that I was used to doing. “Not being able to see the people that I love made me reflect on what people say ‘Never take for granted the people that you have around you because you don't know what will happen tomorrow.” Also, during one dinner, my mom and my sister and I were talking about how several times during church they told us to not miss out on the assemblies just because you think that they are going to another next year because you never know if that assembly or church will be the last one. That also made me realize that they emphasize that because we don't know what will happen tomorrow. I added this piece of writing in my essay because there may be someone that reads this essay and can relate to what I'm saying. Maybe,they are feeling the same way. I want my audience to feel connected and that it's ok to feel that way.
I began my essay by saying "At the beginning of the year we all thought that 2020 was going to be our year. We all were going to start a fresh new chapter of our lives, that's what we thought. To be honest, this whole year has been a roller coaster we have seen planting things happen through the past nine months." I began this essay this way because I wanted to introduce what my essay was going to be about. The text structure I use is a little bit of description, a little bit of sequence, and compare and contrast. At the beginning of my essay, I start to describe my experience at the rodeo. When we got there were not a lot of people because it was about to be four in the afternoon and people normally came a little later. So,when we got there the first thing we did was to go on the rides and games. In one of the first games that my siblings and I played I was the winner so I won a giraffe stuffed animal. To win the game, you had to make a tube go up by filling it up with water. We went on several rides and played other games until all of us got hungry. When we went to the food area, there were a lot of booths that you could choose from. They were dessert, hamburgers, turkey legs and hot dogs and many to choose from. I describe my experience of the rodeo to emphasize that it was one special day that I had before this whole pandemic happened. I also use the compare and contrast structure in my essay when I talk about how the school has changed this year. “When we used to be in school some of us students would complain about going to school now some of us want to go back to school because it's not the same as what we are used to. We never realize how much we will regret not valuing the opportunity to be able to go to school daily’. I compare how before some of us as students we used to complain about going to school now some students wish to go back to school because these two learning modes are not what we are used to. We miss going to school without worrying about taking a lot of safety protections. Another text structure I use sequences through most essays because I describe how the year 2020 has gone so far for me. I end my essay by saying "This year has been a roller cost that went in a flash. The only thing that we can do it's to live the moment and hope things start to get better." I end my essay this way because I want to emphasize how the year went and also mention the main idea once again.
A piece that is important for me in this essay will be ‘Not being able to see the people that I love made me reflect on what people say on”Never take for granted the people that you have around you because you don't know what will happen tomorrow.” This is important to me because this whole pandemic made me realize that we should cherish the moments that we spend with our loved ones and the people that make a change in our lives because nobody had imagined that we wouldn't be able to see the people that we love as often as we used to because of this whole pandemic. A literary device that I use is hyperbole “Felt that we were living the same day over and over.” This year has been a rollercoaster that went in a flash. I use this literary device to make my essay more interesting. I also use imagery. “When we got there were not a lot of people because it was about to be four in the afternoon and people normally came a little later. So when we got there the first thing we did was to go on the rides and games. In one of the first games that my siblings and I played, I was the winner,so I won a giraffe stuffed animal. To win the game you had to make a tube go up by filling it up with water.” I use imagery for the reader to imagine what I was trying to convey. A word I use to describe the tone will be direct. I was trying to be direct on what was the main idea “Not being able to see the people that I love made me reflect on what people say on”Never take for granted the people that you have around you because you don't know what will happen tomorrow.” I use the phrase to stand out the main idea. Another word I use as a tone will be earnest. I use this word because in my essay I use deep sincerity and feeling. “This made me realize that when we used to be in school some of us will complain about going to school now some of us want to go back to school because it's not the same as what we are used to. We never realize how much we will regret not valuing the opportunity to be able to school on a daily basis.” Earnest is a word I use for this tone because through this easy I show sincerity feelings about how I feel about the year. The last word I will use to describe tone will be pensive because I reflect on how the year went.’A lot of things have changed through the last nine months. We went from living daily lives like everything was normal. Taking precautions of what will happen tomorrow, wearing a mask for safety, not being able to see the people that we care about, employment rates going up and many more.”
The purpose of writing this was to emphasize on why we should not take for granted what we have. The main message is that we should not take for granted what we have instead we should value each moment because we really don't know what will be tomorrow. I chose this main message because this pandemic started. I never realize how much I miss doing certain things that I used to do because sometimes I thought I could do them later on. So that made me realize I should not take for granted what I have instead to value the moment I have because I really don't know what will be the day of tomorrow.