Category: Communication

In Macbeth, the audience is introduced to a character called Macbeth, he doesn’t appear in the scene but his name is mentioned by his captain during a battle and he is considered brave and strong soldier to pushed their side to victory.                                                            “For brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name”. This quote demonstrates that Macbeth has been recognised for his hard work and power to succeed in the battle. Also his fierceness in the battle is described “fixed his head upon our battlement” and the adjective ‘brave’ suggests positive things about Macbeth. Shakespeare does this to give the audience a first impression about Macbeth and it is positive and get them to think like this but there’s also foreshadowing in the beginning of the text suggesting that Macbeth’s character might change, because straight after Macbeth’s recognition his is awarded with the title of Thane of Cawdor. Duncan, the king, has been betrayed before by the Thane of Cawdor so we get a hint that it might happen again. Going back to the context, in Shakespeare’s time warriors were well looked at especially if they helped their side win battles and had no fear when fighting and that was exactly Macbeth’s character at the start of the play.(writers ideas)                                                                                                                                                                                                       In the beginning of the novella Scrooge has been presented as a completely opposite character to Macbeth, he has been described as moody and tight-fisted. An example when he had a negative persona was when the charity workers came to visit him and ask for money to give to the poor and he refused with an arrogant tone of voice.                                                                                                                           “I wish to be left alone”. The quote shows me that Scrooge is a lonely person and also anti-social. The adverb ‘alone’ represents how he wants to be left and set an image of Scrooge’s personality, how much he interacts with people and why he is disliked by others.In addition Scrooge has, met Marley’s ghost which has increased his flaws by him getting scared and a bit aggressive when talking to the ghost and others.The novella is set around Christmas and for Scrooge not wanting to be with anyone suggest that he doesn’t communicate with his family and friends and that he doesn’t enjoy Christmas. Dickens has decided to show Scrooge like this, because of his personal experience which was spending time in the debtors’ prison even during Christmas and the atmosphere around was sad. Also Scrooge not wanting to donate any money can be due to he doesn’t want to have any debts and get into trouble this is why he is tight-fisted.

As we move through the play we start to see the first of Macbeth’s flaws. Lady Macbeth (his wife) manipulates Macbeth about how he can become king and be very powerful, this was after the witches predictions they had. Macbeth shows signs of guilt and hesitation to try and become king.                                                                                                                                                                                                           “If the assassination could trammel up the consequence and catch with his surcease success” Here we see Macbeth thinking whether or not he should commit crimes to become king as he is scared of the consequences he might face and now that he has just gained a bit of reputation he could ruin it. The two key words in the quote are ‘consequence’ and ‘success’, because it could got either way for Macbeth, he could not get caught by committing many murders to get to the top and become king or it could go totally wrong for him and he could face execution. Shakespeare shows that Macbeth is confused and also the people around you could influence your life and actions in a positive or negative way.                                                                                                                                                                                         However, Scrooge started of the novella with a high amount of flaws now we see them descending as his personality is starting to change with the help of the spirits that visit him during his sleep. As the ghost for the Christmas past shows him his childhood, Scrooge has sympathy on how he was as a child and this is a more positive emotion and it’s different on how we usually know Scrooge.                              “Filled with gladness when he heard them give each other Merry Christmas”. We start to see Scrooge develop into a more content character and having a better understanding of the meaning of Christmas. The quote uses the adjective ‘filled’ to show the reader how much gladness he has for hearing the people talking about Christmas. Charles Dickens tries to demonstrate to us the importance of Christmas, how its a time to celebrate and come together with family and friends. When he was in the debtors’ prison there was no enjoy and happiness apart from when it came to Christmas where people tried to cheer up a bit and have a good time if possible.

This possibly one the biggest flaws we see Macbeth in, because he has just killed his best mate Duncan, who was the king, after being heavily pressured by his wife. His wife put him to test and influenced him more by doubting his capabilities of being a man and if he was strong and brave enough to kill the king. Also after committing the deed he becomes very paranoid:                                                           “With all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hands?”. Macbeth became insane as well which adds to his flaws and we can see that he is having regret for killing his best mate. He feels as if he is stuck and can’t get out of this nightmare that he has just created. Shakespeare has fooled the audience into believing that he is a good character that has no flaws. When reading Shakespeare you have to read in between the lines to figure out what’s happening or if there’s hidden information, like the foreshadowing at the start of the play about how the king has been betrayed by the Thane of Cawdor. This part of the play relates to the gunpowder plot where the king gets betrayed and killed.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 In the novella ‘A Christmas Carol’ we see a development of Scrooge’s character in positive sense and I have noticed that both characters’ personalities are going completely opposite ways. Both characters have been influenced by ghost but one has had positive impact and the other has had a negative impact.                                                                                                                                                                            “Most extraordinary voice between laughing and crying…his heightened and excited face”. From the quote we see that the Christmas ghosts are having a positive impact of Scrooge’s life and making him a better person. Also in the quote there are adjectives such as ‘heightened and excited’ to describe how he is feeling and looking. These adjectives create imagery for the reader and it grabs their attention more towards the play and that is a good technique used by Dickens. The structure of the novella is compared to a humans life, because a person can good from a negative persona to a positive one or vice-versa but it’s in stages and doesn’t happen straight away. Dickens is comparing the story to his past when he was in the debtors’ prison everyone was a bit like Scrooge at the start of the novella but when they got out they totally changed or even when they were inside the prison they had to cheer each other up and not always be miserable.

Towards the denouement of the play, Macbeth is totally flawed and doesn’t know what to do. He has done so many wrong things and has no where to go, he has great emotions of guilt and regret but he was oblivious to Lady Macbeth’s plans. The witches predictions have changed his personality dramatically as Macbeth and Banquo were best mates before. I can see from both stories that the supernatural has played the biggest part in the way that the characters develop throughout the play and novella. Before Banquo was killed Macbeth had already changed his views on how he felt about the king.                                                                                                                                              “So he is mine; and in such bloody distance that every minute; of his being thrust”. The quote demonstrates that he has gone insane that he has become hypocritical, because he was good with Banquo and they were best friends and now he hates his presence and demands for him to be killed. Also the quotes shows me that Macbeth feels despaired, he wants to be very powerful so quickly and overcome challenges in the any way. Shakespeare teaches us that you can’t trust anyone as that they might want to harm you even your friends, the most important is looking after your family, protecting them and taking care of those matter to you. This section of the play can be associated with the king James I, because he wasn’t a bad king but he killed a lot of people which influenced how he was viewed by others and he also wanted to have great amounts of power.                                                                                                                                                                For Scrooge we see that he is making an effort to change and he doesn’t want to reverse to his old self. The ghost ‘Christmas yet to come’ showed him his grave and how no one really cared about his death and that he is isn’t present any more. This affected Scrooge a lot and as the reader we feel sympathy for him:                                                                                                                                                                       “I hope to live to be another man from what I was”. Here we see that Scrooge regretted the person he was before and he wants to progress now as a better man leaving the past behind him. The verb ‘hope’ shows us that is worried on whether or not he will be able to change and if the people around him will accept his change. Dickens wants to take Scrooges character changer slowly and not change him quickly, it’s progression like in life and that’s what he bases his stories a lot of, life.

Coming to the end of the play Macbeth is totally lost and has completely lost his mind making him go insane and not knowing what to do. He has committed so many crimes and the peer-pressure really affected him to do things he never wished he had done. Also Banquo’s ghost keeps appearing which frightens Macbeth, activates his insanity and at this moment he is totally flawed.                                                         “Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, The arm’d rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger; Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves, Shall never tremble: or be alive again.” Macbeth demonstrates signs of fear by the apparition of the ghost, it doesn’t matter what shape or form he is in it will still affected the way he acts. Compared to the start of the play where he was described with no fear and had no flaws it has been proved that it was meant to miss lead you and Shakespeare has created two different personalities for one character. This has influenced how he is portrayed to others as now he is thought not to be the correct person to lead the country and that he has mental issues.                   On the other hand Scrooge is becoming a character with no flaws and is becoming a hero is he town due to his actions after he woke up from his dream. Now that Scrooge is trying to prove himself that is has changed and is another man, as the reader we feel content for this behaviour and things that we now found surprising compared to the start of the novella:                                                                                     “I am about to raise your salary”. Used to knowing Scrooge as a tight-fisted and selfish person when we are introduced to one of the most remarkable actions he could of done, raising the salary of his clerk and the audience get a sense of shock in a positive way. The word ‘raise’ tends to a good thing and I feel convinced that Scrooge has changed, because throughout that day he does many other generous things. Dickens wants to show us the true Christmas spirit and people should behave themselves not only during this time of the year but all year round. Also the fact that Scrooge said  he was going to change and he did. Actions speak louder than words, is one of the morals Dickens tries to portray to us.

Overall Scrooge and Macbeth both start at different ends of the spectrum; Macbeth with no flaws and being respected by others and Scrooge with a high number of flaws and disliked by the people around him. But in denouement of the play and novella, both characters are different ends again; Macbeth being totally flawed, his gone insane and Scrooge has no flaws and is loved by everyone as he gains the correct attitude towards Christmas and does many good things.

Dear Ms Samantha Taylor,

I’ve just finished reading your article regarding teenagers and their social lives involving social media. I partially believe in a few aspects the authors have raised, but in others I see things through a different perspective. For example on how teenagers would act, change character or even alter their attitude after a few simple texts. From my own eyes, I have witnessed adults are also glued to their smartphones more than teenagers and I don’t think it’s work related. Facebook and Twitter are only some of the social networking sites they ‘bangout’(overuse something) in teenager terms. Adults often over exaggerate issues and problems, which seem unimportant. I know teenagers are our main focus, because they are our next generation who could change the world depending on what type of person they are.  Continuous negative messages and reports like this one brings the morale of teenagers down.

Only if Franzen, Louis CK, Greenfield and yourself were in our shoes you would understand our point of view.

On the other hand I agree with the next point Frazen has raised relating to the weakening of teenager relationships, because too much social media causes them to be shy of talking to people in face to face. At the same time there are plenty of teens who have great capacity of communicating and using social media for a period of time doesn’t affect them in any sort of manner. This could be, because they go out a lot so experience is on their side. Others is due to natural characteristics of a person that is over-confident.

In the past adults didn’t have technology at their disposal and that’s why they might not relate to it as much as teenagers. Technology was basically brought up in the era of the teenagers meaning access was greater and lifestyle in England has improved dramatically resulting in the millions and millions of sales in technology.   Furthermore a variety of adjectives are used to describe teenagers and a tremendous amount of them are quite harsh like ‘digital teenagers’ as many students have a healthy and active lifestyle.  Teens need to be treated like adults giving them responsibility and not thinking we are more than them, for example barging in front of them and giving them dirty looks in public transport. We can see a fall in many of teenagers’ academical results and these are the students we see are over using social media and basing their life on it which for me is logically incorrect, this is where the motivation, inspiration of parents, teachers and peers come in. These so called ‘enslaved social inadequates’ need their heads lifted up to reality and explain the consequences of social media and the long-term effects, so they are not endangered by social media.

I believe that some of the information written by adults is sometimes too quick to judge, because as a teenager and relating with them I don’t see inappropriate behaviour, they might be performing actions but in a way which doesn’t harm anyone and it’s normally to demonstrate something to their friends. An experience that I have seen is a group of school boys on their way home and they had their hoods up because it was raining but every stranger that walked past seemed afraid of them and gave them dirty looks.

Speaking from my perspective I see a vast majority of teens behaviour appropriately, only communicating with people they know.

Nowadays these recent social media sites are all secured and hacking isn’t a problem. I believe that many people who have these sites like Facebook have privacy lockings and we can only see people’s information  if you’re a friend with them, but they have to accept the friend request first. An example of a teacher that posted misogynistic things on Facebook ended up losing his job. He was constantly posting up pictures and writing things that offended women and he got caught out. Safety is something in our society that is worrying and that has caught my attention to, similarly adults expose vital information of themselves as well. Is it adults causing the bad habits and presenting wrong ideas to teenagers?

Concluding teenagers need to be looked on the positive side and if help is needed then our human instinct is there to help them. We can look to them as young adults and actions speak louder than words. Teenagers need to be incentivised, motivated and inspired.

This subject is very controversial and the negatives need to be improved.

Your sincerely,

William Domingues

The poems ‘At the Border, 1979’ and Out of the Blue both demonstrate the effects of conflict on peoples lives, logically we that conflict is negative and its not loved by anyone. In between each stanza both poem have similarities and differences, one of these similarities is strong emotions which is emitted by the people and narrator. ATB is a more pleasant and happy atmosphere, because all of the refugees are returning and they are relieved to back to there homeland. There a refugee who shows his emotions more than anyone”A man bent down and kissed his muddy homeland”, there was a civil war in there country and the muddy ground suggests devastation and that the war was intense. OTB there’s a contrast in strong emotions, as the narrator is the person stuck in one of the twin towers during the 9/11 tragedy, one of the emotions is desperation because hundreds of people are trapped, squashed and running out of oxygen. The strong emotions used, gives pity for them people “small in the clouds but waving, waving. Does anyone see a soul worth saving?” and the people at that time couldn’t do anything to rescue the people as it was an unexpected occurrence.

Another similarity used in both poems is imagery, this technique increases the interest of the reader. Whistle both poems use imagery, the emotions are completely different. The imagery used is day to day things that we can relate to like in OTB ” A man shaking crumbs or pegging out washing”, the narrator is trying to tells us that 9/11 is not an ordinary thing or something that we can give very little importance to. The mothers ATB display images of their homeland to their children, this settles the nerves and creates satisfaction “the landscape is more beautiful and people are much kinder”, this quotation also tells us that the refugees suffered and had difficulties in the foreign country. Conflict effects peoples negatively and when they return it’s like heaven and during the conflict it’s hell.

The poems ‘Belfast Confetti’ and ‘At The Border 1979’ both talk about how conflict and war can affect feelings about a place. Choman Hardi and Ciaran Carson both demonstrate that war and conflict affect individuals, loved ones and a nation. This is displayed through the different type of language features in the poems.

At the border, 1979 talks about a civil war that has just finished in their home country and allows them to return and so does Belfast Confetti but about a civil war and political war which is currently happening in the poem. Carson is presently experiencing conflict and viewing terrorist attacks directly in front of him such as bombings and explosions whereas Hardi explains his feelings after the war and the returning home, an aftermath. In the Confetti there has been disagreements between families which lead them to fight against each other, because at that time in Ireland had two differing political ideologies and as a result physical conflict was prone. Also at the Confetti is relating the event to individuals specifically him, because he is trying to escape but every alleyway he enters he is blocked by ‘stops and colons’, whilst At the Border there is a holistic view which includes the nations people and how they are emotionally feeling. We know that Hardi is returning home, because a man “bends down and kissed his muddy homeland” this just shows how important home is to people now a days. This can be due to people having difficulties in other countries, wanting them to return.

Both poems are written in first person however the speaker and experiences of conflict are different. In the poem Confetti the poet is a victim as he surrounded by the conflict and he is an innocent character but At the border 1979 the poet is an observer as the war has ended and she is returning home as she was exiled from her country and she is also observing the happiness of the civilians around her. As I previously mentioned At the border 1979 is a poem after the war and they find sanctuary in contrast Confetti is the poem which is in the present and it’s destroying Ireland. A fact that both poems have in common is that the poems are in the past, At the border 1979 is the conflict that happened between Kurdistan and Iraq and Belfast Confetti is the war between Republic and Northern Ireland. Similarly both wars ended in a catastrophic way with thousands of deaths.

At the border 1979 the poet defines the importance that the homeland can have to people and there is nothing sweeter than returning home instead of being refugees and having plenty of difficulties, conversely Belfast Confetti demonstrates at that time in Ireland people were not allowed to have their own views and opinions on how they believed they should live their lives. All of the Irish civilians had to be restricted to one ideology. Equally both poem express the strain, the chaos and the endurance that the innocent civilians had to come across, which was totally unfair. At the border 1979 there was a huge sense of relief, because arriving home is a great feeling especially after a war whereas Belfast Confetti there’s a built of tension, its very chaotic and the poet is terrified as he is in the middle of the conflict.

In conclusion both poems are similar as they both refer to wars and conflicts but the period of the war is different one is a the end and the other is during the conflict. Both poems have different messages and use different language to get their point across.

1. Vaudevue’s death has been set in the first stanza by creating a lonely atmosphere. The poet has left this girl soldier by herself in the middle of no where buy the only thing is around is a round flat stone. ” She is alone, at midnight in the moonlight”. This quotation makes the reader think why she is alone in the darkness by herself. Also the word ‘alone’ is repeated twice getting us concerned and that the girl is insecure, not safe and vulnerable. The language used in the first stanza gives us the sense of sadness and something terrible has just happened especially because she on a battlefield.

2. A clue that was given to the reader regarding the future was weapon of sort that is used in warfare called M.L.5. We are given the impression that M.L.5 is a sort of pill, tablet or medicine and it makes people lose their memory. In addition this weapon is described as ‘human exterminator’ which means is can potentially kill or end hundreds/thousands of peoples lives by losing their memory. The loss of memory means humans will not remember anything in their past and possible good memories they had.

3. One technique that was used in the poem was the repetition of the word ‘ominous’ and it is used to describe the lake. When you have a ominous feeling it means you have the impression that something bad is going to happen. So when the poet describes the lake in an ominous way and that Vaudevue is near by, an horrific event is going to happen. Another technique used is alliteration was ‘swiftly severing’ this means is slowly/smoothing cut something off. At this point the girl soldier is in an icy-lake and she has dived in and slowly drowning herself.

This poem was a response to the terrorist event 9/11. The poet is confused, insecure and no trust is portrayed to the reader. Throughout the poem the noun and the verb constantly changes. When the poet changes the noun to describe the figure standing outside the door which appear to be negative then positive for example the physical appearance of the figure to look like a terrorist. This is a very harsh word to apply to a person, it can also be very discriminating and racist. In addition the recent event of 9/11 means the word terrorist creates controversy, especially towards Arab and Islamic people. Then there is a contrast in the meaning of the verb is adjusted to freedom fighter which is someone who fights against an unjust government but this is for a good reason. The development of the poem carries on like this the change of nouns from positive to negative. Also the verbs are describing the movement of the figure, normally making them more suspicious, threatening, vulnerable or they are taking protection. As the poem progresses the poet becomes less threatened and more familiar with the person its encountering. The phobia towards Islamic and Arabic people means the poet was like the majority of people at that time, uncomfortable and scared. But as the figure approached her house she mentions ” Is a child who looks like mine”. This transmits a message how people acted after the terrorist attack, doubting and having no trust with the people around them.

In my opinion I think the poet has a Islamic or Arabic background, because these were the people that were demonised and put inferior compared to everyone else, so by saying “Is a child who looks like mine” gives us the impression the child was from those backgrounds. At this point there was a relief from the audience knowing that there was no harm towards the poet. In the next stanza, there’s a description of the child approaching the poet and there was contact between them.

“His hand too steady, his eyes too hard” reflect to the reader that the child was petrified and mentally feeling down. From this quote I get a feeling on how badly the Arabic and Islamic people felt during that period of time, even though they were normal humans and a minority of people portrayed a negative view towards us and also creating a stereotype which can damage peoples emotions.

“Poverty in Sub-Sahara Africa should be tackled”

Poverty is still an issue in sub-Sahara Africa and it isn’t being resolved by the countries who can provide aid. There is and always has been a wide range of issues which need to be addressed, a worldwide strategy needs to be implemented to reduce or totally erase poverty and this has to start from the UN, aid agencies and private individuals working together to accomplish the ambitious global targets.

One of the first ways European countries can help sub-Saharan Africa is to ensure they have access to hygiene and sanitation. Without this you cannot create a self-sufficient societies. It makes no difference what else you do, this will always be an impassable barrier. Methods of fulfilling this most effectively is by educating the young and the old on how to keep clean and how to have good hygiene. Diseases and illnesses occur frequently in sub-Saharan Africa and the substantial number of conflicts are all reasons for the continuation of poverty. These diseases and illnesses cripple the economy of these countries. Developing countries, in Sub-Sahara Africa are the ones which have high percentage of diseases and don’t have an efficient healthcare. Also the lack of investment in these countries doesn’t help them develop further and create foundations for a thriving economy.

Diseases and illnesses are typically found in the sub-Sahara Africa  where countries are under-developed and hygiene tends to be unsatisfactory. Common diseases in these areas are HIV and malaria are the most damaging. Studies from 2012 show the percentage of HIV in 3 Sub-Sahara countries; South Africa (18%), Swaziland (26%) and Botswana (23%). These are staggering figures which shows around a fifth of their population have HIV. Neema and her sister Fatuma live in Burangi, a remote village in Botswana surrounded by water where neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are endemic. Just five years old, Neema has already been sick for several years. As Fatuma grows taller and stronger, her little sister has grown weaker. This just one of many children who suffer each day of their lives. Every day experts from all around the world travel to try and help these people so they have more awareness of the dangers. Numerous people under-rate many African countries due to the number of diseases, also many of these countries have beautiful panoramas and attractions which are not being used to their potential.

Firms are everyday knocking on our London doors asking for us to donate and support the charity services. How would you feel knowing that the money you have earned and then donated is not reaching the correct destination? An estimated £10.5 billion pounds was donated to charities in 2013. This is a significant amount to improve life quality and to save many African families. A study has shown that in the well-known charities, under 10 percent of citizen money has been used for poverty related activities. The rest of the money went towards charity founders, solicitors and operators. According to a 13 year old called Sarah who lives in Kenya, states that when she becomes 14 she is forced to marry a random man. By this happening she will not get any education, freedom and all she has to do is carry litres of water around everyday. In addition Sarah reveals that there is very little help coming from charities and much improvement can’t be done.

Yet another weapon against poverty is the uncontrollable wars that occur throughout the years creating devastation for the people. Huge investments are made into artillery leaving the more important areas of the country untouched. The people are becoming desperate as many of their shelters are being destroyed leaving them homeless and in greater misery. A country that suffers from a considerably high civil war rate is Angola, preventing them from becoming a successful nation. In Angola, the food situation continues to deteriorate as UNITA rebels maintain their campaign to drive rural populations into government-held cities and towns, the country just keeps sinking and poverty just keeps growing. Also food production is expected to go down significantly as many farmers have been forced to abandon their fields. In the meantime, more than a quarter of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa are poorer now than in 1960. Last year, perhaps the most striking example came from Liberia, which has received massive amounts of foreign aid. In 2011, Liberia totalled $765 million and made up 73 per cent of its gross national income. But last year every one of 25,000 students who took an exam to enter the University of Liberia failed, these countries are moving in the wrong direction, they need help and you can have an impact.

The British government is extremely generous in foreign aid donations, it spent £8.7 billion on foreign aid in 2012, showing how loving and caring the people are in supporting these nations. But if money alone was the solution we would be on track not just to improve the lives of poor people today but ending poverty for ever. The idea that large donations can relieve poverty has dominated the theory of economic development and the thinking in many international aid agencies.

In conclusion, poverty is a problem that needs urgently to be tackled. We want a poverty free world, avoiding all the usual excuses. Determination, compassion and love all need to come out of everyone of us to tackle the so called ‘never ending poverty’.

Another dark, icy winter’s night crumbled viciously around London; as always everyone is rushing home. Turning my head, my eyes are dazzled and not quite sure what it was, a vivid light shone almost burning my eyes. The IMAX was the only thing alive and the contrast in light around me was startling. Sitting on the dull red seats on the London bus stops, I was there alone.    

On my way home, shivering with cold, a vast amount of wind was piercing through my clothes. I could barely move my body let alone my numb fingers and I wasn’t able to stabilise my movements. Normally, my journey home is calm, however today a strange sensation, grew slowly into me. The fog outside the bus started whispering around the windows as if it was trying to communicate something to me. Street lights above me were flickering like they was losing their lives. My mind was playing tricks with me, leaving me on edge. How long would it take to reach my stop? The overflow of passengers left me breathless, no oxygen, only the smell of sweaty people. After being squashed against the rigid metal bars for what felt like an eternity, I was finally able to escape out of the bus. The doors swung open with a hiss and I made my escape. My first feeling was relief as I absorbed the pleasant night air.

As I strolled along the alleyway, I began to see some weird looking shadows which seemed to be creeping and sniffing every step I took. Ignoring the human looking shadow, I persevered on as I don’t believe in any of that supernatural silliness. Confusion, paranoia and bewilderment were starting to take place in my brain though. I always walk down that same alleyway and why would it be any different? 

My musing was interrupted by a sudden click directly above my head, the street lights disappeared and plunged me into darkness. Everything was pitch black.

I decided to picked up the pace and focus on nothing else but to get home. Being a little clumsy and walking fast isn’t a good combination, because in a flash I tripped over some old bin bag. At this moment I began to feel frightened and the flash back of the human shadows hit me and instantly I started to reflect. I Slithered across the rough road, completely terrorized about what I was sensing. Step by step, I carried on my journey through the alleyway constantly observing what is around me. I had a fast and intense heart beat, heavy breathing and an immense amount of sweat sliding down my face completely ignoring how cold it is. At this point my senses were exceeding the norm, I had high-sensed hearing, my vision was beyond its range, my sense of smell was outrageous and my sense of touch was extremely sensitive. I was alert and ready for any circumstance that could arise out of no where. 

“Stomp, stomp, stomp”- heavy footsteps that were speeding up behind me and I could feel that they were just a few feet away from me. I didn’t dare to look back. Suddenly I felt a rough and thick hand squeeze my shoulder, a deep voice with a sweet tone spoke:                                                                                                   “Don’t be scared, just come with me and everything will be fine”. At this moment my brain was panicking, out of control and not knowing what to do. 

My legs got a boost of energy and unconsciously one leg was chasing the other at a speed I’ve never seen before. Running through all the broken concrete was like an obstacle course but my main focus was to get home. Loud roars was all I could hear, seemed like I was being chased by a pack of dogs. The force that was helping me carry on was God, I didn’t stop praying, it was my only savior as kept sprinting. The further I ran and the more corners I turned the quieter the roars were getting. As I stepped to the front door, I started feeling my pockets and clothes trying to find my keys. My heart sank, I could hear the jangling noise of the keys but they were no where to be found. Squeezing every pocket I had, even where the keys couldn’t fit. So close from placing the shiny metal into the key hole and enter safety. 

In an instant I fell to the ground in exhaustion…. It’s over, it’ over.

Give your all to me and I’ll give my all to you. In my 14 years it’s been hard to get an appreciation from my parents and then get rewarded for it, just emotional. The fact of getting recognised makes me feel proud and drives me to get reach higher. When something is given to me with love and care I like return the favour.

The summer has arrived, everyone is eager to leave the ever-lasting school not to mention the teachers! All the students are anxious to receive their grades, including the dreadful ones. As the sun rose up, the singing of the birds was overshadowed by the thump of the letter box. I stood up extremely quickly, not realizing I would get dizzy and sprinting towards the large fluorescent door, fortunately I didn’t slip and hit my head. Picking up so many plain white letters I thought it wasn’t there. Until I spotted the bright red stamp from the London nautical school.

Ripping the letter with such force, I was thrilled to open the letter hoping excellent things, which I worked so hard all year, on a piece of paper. While opening the letter it felt ages, it seemed like it didn’t want to open. Finally it came out and a wave of green boxes is all that caught my attention. For a split second there was no reaction, but then a cheeky smile lifted on my face and you could see it from miles away. Immediately racing towards my parents with so much excitement. I couldn’t explain my emotions at that particular moment.

Glancing at the letter was my unreactive parents; there was no expression on their faces until I asked them:

“So what do you think?” I exclaimed. The grin started popping on their faces, those small instants made my heart race like a jet.

“Well, the teachers expected this and you accomplished it, well done!” what a relief that was for me, all that intense work and homework that was set, I tried my best reaching to where my capacity can take me. The fulfilling emotion that I obtained was just out of this world. All this occurred about a week before, and then we went on holidays to my home town. Forgetting these crazy events, I went to savour sometime of this miserable country when it comes to summer and weather. One of the greatest holidays I had, as I went into them with calmness, satisfaction and relaxation. Coming back is always depressing but life goes on and we have to deal with.

After a week or so I got back into my normal routine school, football and general habits. An exhausting afternoon returning from school I couldn’t concentrate on much as my brain wasn’t functioning properly. Entering my house I noticed the strange absence of my mum, my rapid action was to call her, there was no answer. I felt perturbed; suddenly I heard a shrieking sound emerging form the stairs. I felt agitated, didn’t know what was travelling down.

“Who’s that?” I questioned.

“Who do you think it is William?  Haha” automatically I knew it was my mum, not sure if it was a prank or me just acting silly. Seems like my mum was struggling down the stairs. Appearing round the corner she was carrying and tremendous box wrapped in a vivid colourful paper. My mum ordered me to open it; confusion and enthusiasm took place in my head. Promptly I rushed to open the mysterious box. My eyes widened nearly popping out, it was all I’ve been waiting for…. Fresh ps4! I was radiant and I couldn’t thank my adorable parents enough. Rising up to my eyes was a couple of tears which I rapidly wiped of, didn’t my mum to see them.

This was an incentive for me to continue who I am and to be successful, I’m not doing this because I want treats from it but it’s the self-content I get and to see the vast smile from my loved ones, my parents.

By: William Domingues