Olivia's Essay

Olivia Denison

Mr. Salsich

English 9

15 November 2008

What do you regret?

What I regret and what Mr. Scrooge regrets

Do you ever want to go back in time and change something? Do you even realize at that instant that you might regret what you are doing? Scrooge didn’t realize what he was doing to himself or to others until his dead friend came to talk to him about his faults. I didn’t even think what I was saying or doing when my grandma called, and now, just like Scrooge, I regret what happened that day.

TS A few days before she died, my grandma called. SD I remember that she was asking a lot of questions and I wasn’t really paying attention because I had a friend over and we were getting ready to leave for a long weekend in New Hampshire CM She was telling me about this “game”, the choking game, where kids try to hold their breath as long as they can. CM I told her that I had never heard of it and neither had my friend. SD She told me to never play this game because kids were dying from playing it. CM I told her I never would, and that it was unintelligent for a person to do something like that. CM She was satisfied with my answer, and we eventually parted with, “I love you”. CS Since then, I have kept my promise to her and have not done anything that would put my life in danger and I hope my grandma is looking down on me and is pleased with what she is seeing.

TS There are many things I regret that day, including some things that I learned when I was child that I could have done better. SD For instance, when I was talking to her on the phone, I didn’t make her feel loved because I was preoccupied with what was happening at the time. CM If I had known that it would be the last time I talked to her, I would have shown more love toward her. CM I should have at least shown a more caring tone in my voice because I think she thought I didn’t care at the time. SD Secondly, I wasn’t paying attention and listening to what she had to say. CM I should have excused myself from my friend’s company and gone to another room. I was so distracted by my friend’s presence, that I wasn’t even paying attention to her conversation, which made it hard to say anything meaningful. CM My grandma didn’t show she was hurt and I realize that she just wanted to hear my eager voice, but instead I think she was disappointed with me. CS If I could do it all over again and make my grandma come back, I would do everything in the world to make her feel wanted and needed.

You never know what the future will bring, so be careful about what you do and say. I am not saying always do everything right, but try to be as kind as possible because it might come back to bite you, so bite it before it bites you. In other words, be ahead of the game and if you can’t, change what you have done. If you regret something, try to fix it; and if you can, do so quickly.

Graphic organizer

Introduction: Do you ever want to go back in time and fix something or do you even realize at that instant that what you are doing might be a regret later. Scrooge didn’t realize what he was doing to himself and others until his dead friend came to talk to him about. I didn’t realize it until that person was gone.

1^st body paragraph:
TS: New Hampshire, few days before my grandma died
SD: she was asking a lot of questions and I wasn’t paying attention
CM: told me about the choking game
CM: I had never heard of it
SD: kids were dying from it
CM: I never would do it because it was unintelligent
CM: was pleased
CS: kept my promise

2^nd body paragraph:
TS: many things I regret, and I had learned these things long ago
SD: didn’t make her feel loved
CM: if I had known it would have been the last time, I would have showed more love
CM: I think she thought I didn’t care about her at the time
SD: wasn’t paying attention or listening
CM: should have excused myself from my friend
CM: didn’t show she was hurt but I knew she was disappointed
CS: make her feel wanted and needed

Conclusion: I am not saying always do everything right but try to be as kind as possible because it might come back and bite you, but you have to bite it before it bites you. In other words be ahead of the game. If you regret something try to fix if you can that is and if you can do so quickly.

Self Assessment

What I like best about my essay…
What I like about my essay is that I think I did a good job explaining my feelings about what happened that day. I did a good job going into depth about my feelings for my grandma, too.

What was the hardest part of this assignment for me?
Organization was the hardest part for me. I don’t think it flows very well and maybe in some parts boring.