Cooper Feltes

Top 10 Favorite  sentences



27 September, 2009,

Respect:

A Look at How Respect is a Common Theme in To Kill A Mocking Bird

(TS) Respect is a food that powers peace.

This sentence is admirable because it is true. I didn't think that I could have come up with such a powerful sentence  back at the beginning of the year.

October 18, 2009,

Privacy:

Privacy and It's Different Functions and Meanings

To me, it's hard to keep a secret that is nagging to jump out of your mouth, waiting to spoil someone's reputation.

This sentence is extremely crisp and clear. The appositive closer at the end adds power to the

sentence.  

October 21 2009,

Glorious sway:

The Examination of the Simple Sway of a Descending Feather

More than one thing in anyone's life has something to be showed by a feather's fall.

I remember having to put about 30 minutes into the closing paragraph of this essay. Because this is the final sentence, I needed to add a little extra time to create the ultimate closing sentence, and I think I succeeded.


October 28, 2009

The Fearful:

How Fear Corresponds to My Life

 A perfect, fearless world is a "man-eating unicorn", not only because it's not possible, but once we get there, we would kill our minds and create a brain with less capacity for excellence.

I enjoy this sentence because there are no misplaced words. I know I could have messed this sentence up by making it unclear, but I read it over multiple times. I also like the "man-eating unicorn" analogy.

November 18, 2009

Want:

A View Upon How things Are or Aren't Wanted.

Wake up in the morning and worry not about what lies ahead, or The challenges that face you, for the hardest part is starting to sit up.

I like this sentence because I have felt this very feeling. Writing about something you feel is much more enjoyable than writing something you don't.

January 13. 2010

Personality:

A View Upon How Personality is Very Important In my Life and in To Kill a Mockingbird

Efficiency is an equal balance of time, effort, and quality, and before I can acheive it, there must be a balance between all three of these factors.

I like this sentence because I give a clear, definite problem and i plot the solution, and I do agree that I try to be efficient.

January 27/2010

Rebellion:

The Growth of Rebellion in My Life and in To Kill a Mockingbird.

My parents have raised me to be 99.99% obedient, so much so, that I can't remember any time where I said "no" to one of my parents requests. I think my childhood compliance is coming back to bite my parents as I grow ever aware of how much I force myself to do.


I chose this sentence because I don't like the truth of it. It is good to bring myself to realize that I need to think more of my own needs than I have been.

March 10, 2010

Forgiveness:

An Essay About Forgiveness in My Life

When I have done something wrong that is scolded, I tend to kick myself for it for months. I try to remember that if they can forgive and forget, then so can I.



I like these sentences because this is still a problem. To look back and see that I was courageous enough to tell this to the world.

Friendship

Freestyle Essay

They’ve most likely been friends for decades.

They’ve taken and passed the friendship test.

To be honest, I don't know why I like this sentence.

May 17, 2010

Choice:

An Essay That Describes My Belief in Choice

I am now living that later life I spoke of so long ago, and my prophecy(thesaurus word) has become a reality.

I like my sophisticated diction in this sentence. The apt the saurus word adds to the sentences beauty as well.

Essay#23 Choice

Cooper Feltes

English 8

Mr. Salsich

May 17, 2010

Choice:

An Essay That Describes My Belief in Choice

        (TS) Choice has been a belief of mine since I was seven years old.(CM) This was the age that I figured out that choice was going to be a part of my life.(CM) Before that, my parents decided what I do and where I do it. It took a long time, until I was around eleven years old, to actually put my beleif into action.

        (TS)Throughout my life, I have had the freedom, the luxury, and the stress of choice(parallelism). (second TS) Though the stress of choice is a burden, it is a small price to pay for something I believe in. (SD) As I grow older in life, I have realized that the choices I make are affecting the people around me; I like to call this, a "ripple effect".(CM) This "ripple effect" has made itself more and more present as I am given the freedom to make more choices for myself.(CM) This "ripple effect" is unavoidable, and can end up in a positive manor, or a horrific disaster.(SD) Each day I wake up in the morning; snooze or shower; each day I eat breakfast, Wheaties or Cheerios; each day I make my lunch; a sandwich or leftovers (parallelism); a mere three examples of the hundreds of choices I make every day.(CM) My morning routine is full of simple choices that do not effect my life in a major way. (CM) The "ripple effects" of these examples are small compared to some choices I have to make. (SD) It is never possible to make everyone happy. (CM) The choices I have made have made people very satisfied, but that happiness, I have learned, must be taken from another source. (CM) Each decision I make must alternate sources in order to keep people happy some of the time. (CS) The "ripple effect" is a consequence of the freedom, the responsibility, and the splendor(thesaurus word) of choice.

        (TS) As a young boy, I learned how important choice would become in my later life. (CM) I am now living that later life I spoke of so long ago, and my prophecy(thesaurus word) has become a reality. (CM) I have witnessed my choices hurt and benefit the people around me. (CS) Because it is a constant fuel of my life, I believe in choice.

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Self-Assessment

This was an extremely serious essay for me. I remember Hearing the 9th grade speeches a few years back about "what [they] believe in". Within an hour after hearing the first speech, I decided, If I ever wrote about something I believe in, I would write about choice. This was my opportunity. I honestly love the closing paragraph. It might be one of my best of the year. I think I could have said "I believe" more in the body paragraph, this would have helped tie the essay together. 

Grade:

A

Essay #22 Valentine

Cooper Essay #22

English 8

Mr. Salsich

May 6, 2010


       In Naomi Shihab Nye's poem, Valentine for Ernest Mann, she says that "nothing in this world is ugly just because the world says so". This is true, for at first glance, many of the things that the world offers us are ugly. If we look into the face of ugliness long enough, though, beauty will expose itself. To Ms. Nye and I, beauty is limitless. 

        Everything is beautiful, and "nothing in this world is ugly just because the world [says] so", are the themes Ms. Nye uses this theme throughout her poem "Valentine for Ernest Mann". She describes an instance when a man she knew once "gave his wife two skunks for a valentine". The man did not care one bit that they smelled abominable(apt thesaurus word), for he thought their eyes were beautiful. He "reinvented" them as something elegant(apt thesaurus word), and they were, "at least to him". Ms. Nye later says that "maybe if we reinvent whatever our lives give us, we find poems". I perceive that poems can symbolize beauty in this context. She says we can find poems, or loveliness, "in [our] garage[s]", or in "the odd sock in [our] drawer", two places usually overlooked when on a search for majesty or artistry(purposeful repetition). When we find beauty from an unusual place in our lives, Ms. Nye says, we will find poems.

Though they may be only beautiful to me, my life is full of beautiful things. For example, I took weeds, like crab grass and dandelions, and recreated them. Before, they were a pestilence(apt thesaurus word)  that destroyed a perfectly good garden or lawn. Now, I view them as what they are; beautiful plants that are a blessing to the universe.  On a similar note, I see mistakes as a gift. Mistakes are a comparison between actions you are proud of, and actions that you wish you could have taken back. If we have no mistakes, how can we define a good action, for we would have nothing bad to compare it to? I suppose, instead of weeds, grass can be thought of as a mistake in nature’s world of wonders. Humans like to see crisp lines and clean surfaces; we show that in our lawns, filled with a bounty of cleanly cut and fresh grass. I also see the weed as a reminder that nature does not like that. Nature battles with the organized lawn, and wins, to reclaim what was once hers, and though the rough, disorderly(apt thesaurus word) texture of the weeds may not be beautiful to most humans, they are beautiful to nature, and therefore, to me (purposeful repetition).


Weeds may be a flaw to any garden, but they are, after all, beautiful. Anything and everything we see has a beauty, whether or not we see it immediately. Spiders, for example, have eight legs, and when closely studied, have many eyes, and some are even covered with stiff hairs. (extra commentary) Isn't it marvelous that nature can create something with such foreign features, that they are seemingly hideous to our eyes? Why should spiders or weeds be "ugly just because the world says so"?