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Monday, April 14, 2014

"Four Hours and Nineteen Minutes" by Lillian C



March 23, 2014
            Over four hours straight with no stops, no sing-alongs, and no wifi. Sounds horrible right? For the first sixty minutes on the road, I sat through L.A.’s heavy traffic with my sister in the driver’s seat and my mother beside her. While I stared out the window and into the neighboring car, completely violating their privacy, I began thinking that I was going to dread the next three hours as we headed towards the middle of nowhere. As traffic cleared up and we merged onto the 101 North, I was suddenly exposed to an extraordinary collection of warmth, cold, and amazement all at once.
There before me was the vast Pacific Ocean in a way I’ve never seen before. A clear cut horizon separating the field of azure and the sheet of ivory that was sitting upon it, a hazy sky barely letting the warm sun bleed through its grasp, and a miniature silhouette of what seemed like an ant venturing across the surface of the ocean. Nothing had been more breathtaking than this, especially following the last hour of agonizing boredom.
After about five minutes of this view, I let myself get wrapped up in the ocean’s countless lips while everything else became a slight hum in the background. To anyone else on the same freeway, I would have looked like an extremely strange child in the backseat that was gradually losing her mind just staring out the window. Maybe I was, but that didn’t seem to matter to me at the time. What truly mattered was that I was now surrounded by colossal mountains that completely obstructed my view of the ocean and that I wasn’t going to see it until I return from wherever I was going.
Now, everything was green! I began to imagine myself rolling down these enormous hills. I felt like I was becoming Mother Nature or something of the kind. Just imagining myself at the top of one of these mountains yelling out, “I am Mother Nature! Everybody, love me!” It made me chuckle to myself because I realized how ridiculous I seemed in the confinement of my own mind, like the strange child in the back again.
But abruptly, I was hit with this immense sadness as I came to realize that one day these mountains would turn from green to brown, the sand would start reaching further out towards the horizon, and the sky would become one of the fifty shades of grey. I grew ashamed of how I had already contributed to the deterioration of this world with all the little wrappers I carelessly tossed to the ground and my so-called “symbolic” burning of failed tests. Something that was just an image to me some minutes ago was now of extremely great value. I never felt such a great admiration for nature, the development of it, and the mystery as to where it all came from.
We are blessed. Not with the newest iPhone, not with our dream car, not even with our college acceptances. We are blessed with an increment of the universe that nurtures all of our loved ones, a world covered with a never-ending thread that connects “stuff” to more “stuff”, and most importantly, a place to call our home.
I am proudly the strange child in the backseat, and within four hours and nineteen minutes, I found home.

28 comments:

  1. Lillian, this submission made me smile. Your depiction of the dazzling ocean and the verdant mountains was utterly beautiful and seeping with eloquence. Reading about your assessment of technology and material wealth in comparison to nature was truly encouraging. It's nice to know that other people recognize that there is more to life than social media and texting. You're amazing chica!!
    -Christina Tapia

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  2. This article was truly inspirational! I love the message at the end. I totally agree that nature is one of the most beautiful and valuable thing on Earth. It is breathtaking and it is our home. It is true that some people are contributing to its deterioration by cutting down trees, polluting the air, and trashing the oceans and streets. It is important to raise awareness of how beautiful nature really is. I really love your description of the Pacific Ocean. It was really detailed and I feel that I can visualize it all in my head! I really enjoyed reading this article. Good job!

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  3. i like how detailed it was it made me realte nd understand how you felt great job
    _ariana jimenez

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  4. Interesting piece, Lillian! Your description of the ocean view reminded me of the time my parents drove me down the beautiful Californian coast line for vacation years ago. It is nice knowing there there are still people like you out there who appreciates nature, and continues to care for it (as I see you stress the importance of recycling around school). I must agree with you, nature is a beautiful thing that needs to be appreciated and cared for, because without it, we are essentially nothing.

    -Hsing Chang

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  5. Lillian, I totally and completely agree with you on this. I've always been very conscious of the effect that we as humans are having on the poor earth, and it frustrates me to see how some people just don't care or don't understand how important it is to protect our home from its deadliest enemy: us. Your description of the Pacific Ocean was beautiful, and I could really picture the breathtaking scenery you wrote of. It's horrifying to think that soon, if nothing changes the human mindset about environmental issues, that amazing view will be gone forever, replaced by a dying world. I'll stop myself now before I start ranting, but all in all, I really loved this piece, and you did a great job in demonstrating the beauty in nature and why it should be protected. :)

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  6. This is a piece that Mr. Dineley (AP Environmental) would be proud of. California is a beautiful place and it is so unique. It is sad to see that we are ruining not only California but the whole world with our ambition. It is nice to find those places that allow you to get away from the city life and enjoy nature (you did a good job with the allusion to 50 Shades of Grey too). Nice job!

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  7. This piece is very uplifting and immediately brought a smile to face. The description you used to describe the ocean was great and gave me the opportunity to envision it myself! Great Job!

    -Erin Napoleon

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  8. Finally, a strange child in the backseat such as I. I absolutely admire you for such an intriguing yet grieving post. Nevertheless I agree that as beings we must appreciate and care for our immaculate world. Kudos!
    -Hennessy Verduzco

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  9. Lillian your piece is so beautiful! Imagine listening to Pandora and Boyz II Men's "On Bended Knee" coming on while reading this!! I almost started crying(LOL!) but .... Anyways! You are definitely right. I agree that we are blessed to have such a beautiful home such as this and that we all need to realize that once it's gone, there is no way of retrieving it. I mean, our carelessness is what is causing our home to deteriorate before our eyes! It's time we began to protect it. The shift of tone from boredom to complete astonishment that you found in the beauty of nature as well as the great imagery you used made your piece that much more enjoyable. Amazing Job!! :D
    -Lucia Gonzalez

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  10. Your descriptions were beautiful. I could imagine myself in this setting and it just seemed so beautiful. That view wil forever have a place in you mind and will be a sense of peace.

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  11. Lillian this was just great. I absolutely love nature and feel enraptured by its beauty and can tell that you were too! You described the scenery in such a memorable manner and I could totally just picture you live out your imagined scenarios! Thanks for sharing your experience and epiphany.

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  12. Wow, Lillian! Your "pondering the abstract" piece is beautiful and so well-written! It captivated me from start to finish, due to your use of vivid imagery. I am glad you found purpose within those four hours and nineteen minutes of a drive. ;) I agree with you; we are blessed beyond compare to live in such a beautiful world. Thank you for sharing such an inspirational message. Great job!

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  13. I really liked this the way you appreciate nature and how you describe it around you. I feel happy that there are people out there who actually care for our environment. I agree completely where you say that nature is the most beautiful and valuable thing. Great Job.

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  14. You have always been one of the greatest writers; I have always admired reading any piece/essay of yours! The title itself is very unique within itself; and before reading that actual thing, I really thought this would have been about one of your concert experiences, but no, it was better. It was really a mixture of two emotions; happiness (and even chuckles) and sadness. I think it's really great that you're spotlighting the whole environmental issue. Believe it or not, I didn't really think you were into that stuff because of all the wrappers you did throw on the ground, which I really did notice. Sorry! :/ haha. But I don't think anybody else could have formed the whole thing into better words, and especially tying it back to a place where we call home. Naturally, people only see Earth as Earth, and their actual house as home. I can see this changing quite a lot of people's minds about what they call home. And it think it's great that you utilize comedy into spotlighting a serious issue; I think my favorite was your "symbolic" burning of failed tests. You did an amazing job Lils! :))

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  15. First off, your use of incredible imagery and diction helped make this piece come alive. I literally feel as if you are next to me, telling me of your amazing experience, and possibly sharing some of your cool jokes. However, your piece also makes me acknowledge the wonderful planet that we live on and all that it provides for us. Unfortunately, we are not always appreciative of its gift and we take it for granted. Instead we place more attention on technology and other things and less on the Earth that we have been blessed to live on. Thank you for sharing this wonderful experience of yours, and writing it so nicely!

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  16. Great job. I really like this piece because you emphasize that nature is the real beauty and not the technology that most teens cant live without. I can relate to this and great piece. Good job.

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  17. Oh my gosh I can totally relate to you with this! I would have to take hour long drives with my dad to his work and was often in the same situation and that's when I truly began to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. Your descriptive imagery and close attention to details reminded me of those times I would stare out the backseat window myself. This piece can remind so many of us to not be consumed by technology so much to the point where we aren't aware of our beautiful surroundings anymore.

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  18. Your overall message was truly inspiration and I was completely blown away by your writing style. Just the way you pieced words together, like "clear cut horizon/field of azure/sheet of ivory..." I fell in love with this little world depicted in your story and then it hit me that we are all a part of this beautiful place, but we take it for granted daily. We all need pieces like this to remind us of how valuable nature is, and how our nasty human habits must change in order to keep Mother Nature happy. I enjoyed reading this, good job Lillian!:)

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  19. I really enjoyed this piece because I loved reading the transformation and realization you went through just by sitting in the car for a couple hours! I agree with you that we (including me) don't realize what a great world we live in and how we should protect it. However I think your use of imagery and details really helped convey your true feelings and how much you learned from this experience. Great Job!!
    Bailey Lynch

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  20. Lillian all of the imagery was so beautiful and I felt as if I was right there with you looking at the pacific ocean. In addition to the imagery I really like this because I think almost everyone has those weird thoughts were we out of nowhere get really deep ideas and thoughts. Again overall this was really well written and extremely interesting!

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  21. Well ok you little hippie child, you. I'm glad you appreciate nature as much as you do. We often get caught up in the latest trends in fashion and technology that we forget that we're harming the environment by doing so. Like, hello! Those clothes and those phones are made in factories that emit an immense amount of CO2 and carbon into the environment! Not to mention that they're the biggest culprit for the depletion of fossil fuels! Gosh, humans are so rude. We should all just reincarnate into plants and release a bunch of oxygen into the air to counteract the amount of CO2 in the environment. That might be a little unreasonable now that I think about it…
    Anyways, I didn't want to read this entry because it's just another reminder that you're going up to SLO for college instead of San Diego with me, but hey, it was a well written piece nonetheless! I wish you nothing but the best up north. Enjoy the green while it lasts!

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  22. I absolutely loved your use of vivid imagery. I felt like I was traveling along inside the car with you, not staring at my laptop. I could practically smell the salty air! Excellent piece! -Emily Wilt per 1

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  23. Even though I did not understand your description of the scenery, it felt as if I were on the beach! Does not make much sense, I know but really you could be just that good at describing the scene.
    This was really remarkable though. I enjoy nature very much but never thought about it the same way you did in this short story. Hope you have fun at your new home!

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  24. Your piece made me reflect on my recent trip up to Santa Cruz. Long scenic road trips like that really make you appreciate the wonders of nature and how small we are in comparison to the universe around us. Thanks for sharing this piece Lillian. Go Ducks!

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  25. sounds like you were high AF in the backseat

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  26. You are an awesome writer! I love how vivid descriptions to explain how the Earth was changing from things we love and enjoy to see to things that are not so pleasing to the eye. Your writing kept me intrigued the entire time. Good job -Mckynzie Fort

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  27. omg, this was so guts. Lillian, we have grown up together. we've known each other for a decade, that's long as heck! and now youre moving 4 hours and 19 minutes away. I'm so glad you found home. I found this piece amusing even thought it wasn't supposed to be, maybe it's because I personally know you. Anyway, your details of your perspective of nature are interesting in a sense where you sound like a hippie who's trying to save the beauty of earth and i love it. I felt this way when I was driving through the middle of the U.S a couple summers ago. and you say you can't write, psh. Good job Lillian. i'm so happy you found home.

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  28. I LOVE this piece! It makes me realize that there isn't just phones, television, new clothes, concerts, and college acceptances to make us realize how beautiful life is. You should appreciate everything in life especially the earth we live on and how beautiful earth actually is. Love life not just for the things you buy or receive love it for your surroundings as well. Great use of vocabulary as well it make me visualize the ocean and the mountains in me head and of me being in the car and seeing all these beautiful sites. I love the message in this story amazing job (:

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