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Tuesday, March 29, 2016

"That Day" by Jessica P

     Screaming, crying, phone calls, and fear filled the house at 3:47 AM. Drowsy and confused I lifted my head up from my pillow and dragged my sleepy self out my bedroom into the hallway where I see tears streaming down my mother’s face. Downstairs my grandma was rocking back and forth mumbling so many words but the only one’s I was able to understand was, “Oh God save him! Save him please!” I continued to walk down the hallway into my parents bedroom where my mom was now being held by my younger brother; both crying. I asked what was going on and the response was not what I wanted to hear. I could barely understand my mom through her sobbing. “Y-y-your dad, he w-was in a car accident on the freeway. He ki-ki-killed someone in the accident!” I heard no more. My mind blanked out and my body froze. Who died? How did this happen? Is my dad okay? How is he?! Tears started running down my face and I went to hug my mother and my brother. Everything was going on so fast I didn’t know what to do. I immediately ran back to my room and threw myself onto my bed and cried into my pillow. I prayed and prayed and cried out to God. Why did this happen? Why him? It was the beginning of Christmas break, a happy time. Well this year won’t be so happy. I wiped the tears off my face and just sat there. Stone cold and numb. It felt like I was there for hours, just sitting there. My mother came into my room and told me how my dad was on his way to work and he was in a car accident. She didn’t know how he was but there was someone dead. She was contacted and my father was being taken to the hospital and they were on their way to meet him. She and my brother went, I stayed. Something about events like these I can’t bear to interact with people, so I stayed and just started to think. I turned off my light and laid my head back on my pillow and explored my mind. I thought about my mother’s broken smile and my brother’s puffy red eyes. I thought about how the accident could have happened. I thought about that happy man, my father; what could have he done to deserve this. Most of all I thought about the night before, how when my dad got home at 7 PM from work. I didn’t even go downstairs to say hi or eat dinner with my family because I was too busy with homework. How could I have done that? What if my father didn’t make it and I never got the chance to sit down and have one last meal with him and tell him how much I love him. I cried and soon fell asleep. 9 AM came around and I felt a soft paw on my belly and a meow. My cat decided to walk over me and greet me to wake me up. I smiled and petted her but then that smile disappeared as I remember what had happened earlier. I grabbed my phone quickly to see if i had gotten updated on any news about my dad. I did. My mom sent a text saying, “Papi is in the hospital but he is okay and will be okay. If all goes good he should be home by tonight. Don’t worry. He loves you very much. See you soon.” “Oh thank God,” I thought. Chills ran through my body and still worry filled me. I forced myself to relax and go throughout my day and eventually my dad came home. My mom and my uncle helped my dad through the door and sat him down on the couch. He was silent and still and was like that for a few days. He struggled to eat and didn’t want any visitors. I couldn’t recognize him. He wasn’t that happy man I once knew. About a week in I felt completely disconnected from my dad. Everything I tried to do to be in contact with him was difficult and he wouldn’t talk much. One day he called me into his room which was odd at this point. I sat down next to him and he spoke to me for about two minutes but those two minutes were all that I needed to know that same dad I had last week was still there. He apologized for being so distant and so upset at himself. He explained that the woman that died in an accident was extremely hard to deal with even if it wasn't his fault. He blamed himself and can't cope with the pain. He told me he still loved me even if it looks like he can't love at all. Walking back to my room I realized some things needed to change in my life. I could have lost my father in that 3-car accident but I didn't and that happened for a reason. Family is important and should come first in so many ways. I know my life was busy but I’d choose family over anything else. We as humans are never promised another day to live. We walk about of our house expecting to come home that night but out there in the world we are each a tiny spect of the population. Hundreds of specs leave this earth each day due to tragic or natural events. If someone you loved dearly left this earth what would be your first thought? Would you have regrets? I would have extreme regrets if i had lost my dad that day. It’s a miracle I didn’t. So, before I didn’t have a strong bond with my family, and although these difficult events are hard to cope with, there are positives. I learned not to take family for granted and I learned to treat them as if I were never see them again.

53 comments:

  1. Jessica, it hurts my heart to know this tragedy happened to your family and I pray they make it through this difficult times, but I already know you will because you've already used the best coping method; love, always love. Your personal piece was so moving, so realistic, I felt as if you were telling this story to me face-to-face. Your dialogue, your diction about your emotions, about what exactly was going through your mind, was so breathtaking. You really have a beautiful voice and a beautiful way to express it...if you ever become a writer, I would strongly encourage and support you. The beginning of your piece already made m heart race, and I really couldn't take my eyes off of your piece (even when I had to pee). I love your ending; you chose to stick closer to your family, you chose to interact and love them, you didn't become distant or isolated and that truly showed in your story. I love you and hope you and your family make it through this because you understand that bad things happen to good people, and you understand the most basic, yet important principle ever: always stick with family, and always love them.
    -Samar Elshekh P.3

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  2. This piece is heart wrenching, but so good. I like that you chose a personal story to write about and how deeply you described everyone's emotions after the car accident. I love the moral of the story and believe that we all take family for granted until something like this happens.

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  3. It's befitting to read a piece like this, since it is the end of the year, and I'm glad it was written by someone as genuine as you, Jessica. Great control of the emotion you maintained through descriptive imagery, but I think the structure could be more concise by maybe separating everything and letting the reader grow into your memoir a little easier. By that, I just mean creating paragraphs that distinctly elaborate more on the specific scenarios that were going on, like your how you felt especially, and not letting the reader plummet into the great emotion you've set up. Putting some great analogies with the imagery on top of the emotion as the foundation of your words could really do it for me.

    Aside from the commentary I'm supposed to give you, I just wanted to acknowledge, again, how great it is to read something like this from you. It has the components of a cautionary tale, but in the end, it really isn't. It's a statement that I never hear from you (because, you know, you just seem so happy all the time and blessed by God's love) and I'm glad you found a voice in this blog, even if it is for a grade. Thank you for the experience and I hope that writing is something you can do to express your experiences and God's love because you really have a knack for really empathizing with a reader. Well done.

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  4. I really enjoyed this, most kids nowadays need to get this drilled in there head. Most of kids in this generation don't treat their parents with any respect, although that their parents would do anything for them and take care of them but honestly kids don't see that. If their parents passed the next day their whole world would change, they'd miss their parents and appreciate what they did from them when they were her, so this is a very important message. And I loved how you incorporated a story with a true message.

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  5. I really enjoyed this story it was as if I was there watching the whole thing happen. Great piece!
    -Jazmine Hernandez
    Period 4

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  6. Jessica, first I want to say that I am terribly sorry this all happened to you. Second I want to say how great of a piece of writing this is. It captures all the emotions you were feeling at that time allowing the reader to be placed in your position. I also love the message about family you put out there. great job
    jazlynn garcia
    period 2

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  7. I remember you mentioning this event happening a month or so back and I remember just kind of listening watching you lose eye contact with me because it became harder to talk about. I want you to know you are one of the sweetest and purest people I have ever met and with that such a strong individual. Even through something so shocking and tragic you still found a positive in it all and I admire you so much for that. I hope your father can heal back fully to his regular self and I hope you can continue to look at life with the same mindset of gratitude and thankfulness despite any situation thrown at you.

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  8. Jess, this has to be the most heartfelt thing I have read in a while. I absolutely connect with you throughout the story because I feel as if you are putting the reader so far in your shoes that it is easy for us to feel and see this event. I am so sorry for what had happened but am truly grateful that you were blessed with your dad's well-being afterwards. Great story love and thank you for sharing this with us; it is a valuable life lesson.

    Period 3

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  9. You're very strong to share this story and I respect that about you :) It taught me not to take things for granted ESPECIALLY family because they will always be there for you even when it might not be apparent that you're there for them. This story was very eye opening and gave a strong realization of unexpected life events that make everyday worth cherishing. Amazing work Jessica!

    -Arianna Serna
    Pd. 3

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  10. I vaguely remember you talking about this event that had crashed into your family. I feel very proud (don't know why) of you being able to tell us your experience and perspective. You are incredibly strong for being able to persevere through this hard time. I had something frightening happen to my family a while back so i definitely know exactly what you could have been feeling. Thank you for sharing!
    Period 3

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  11. I vaguely remember you talking about this event that had crashed into your family. I feel very proud (don't know why) of you being able to tell us your experience and perspective. You are incredibly strong for being able to persevere through this hard time. I had something frightening happen to my family a while back so i definitely know exactly what you could have been feeling. Thank you for sharing!
    Period 3

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  12. Oh Jessica, I remember this day because that same day you were supposed to come over. I remember when i talked to you on the phone and you were crying and I started to tear up too. I am so glad that your dad is okay and I am so unbelievably proud of you for writing this because I know how hard it must have been for you. you did an amazing job writing this.

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  13. Woah, I had no idea my friend that such an event had occurred so recently in your life. Thank the Lord for your fathers safety and health, God really does work in miraculous ways to our benefit all the time. I am so humbled by the vulnerability you have written with here. It truly attests to the fact that you are being shaped into a beautifully complete vessel for the Lord. The many descriptive adjectives used create such vivid imagery of your situation. So glad you decided to share this experience in such an artistic way.

    Jordyn France
    Cogswell
    AP English
    per 3

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  14. Woah, I had no idea my friend that such an event had occurred so recently in your life. Thank the Lord for your fathers safety and health, God really does work in miraculous ways to our benefit all the time. I am so humbled by the vulnerability you have written with here. It truly attests to the fact that you are being shaped into a beautifully complete vessel for the Lord. The many descriptive adjectives used create such vivid imagery of your situation. So glad you decided to share this experience in such an artistic way.

    Jordyn France
    Cogswell
    AP English
    per 3

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  15. Wow, I'm really thankful that you shared such a sensitive story with us. I have been facing moments like these quite often lately. I find that we see and hear about stories like this all the time, but we never truly realize that it can happen to anyone, until it happens to us. I'm glad that there are people out there like you who are able to turn this trying situations into learning experiences. Thank you again for sharing!

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  16. I was so shocked to read this. I mean, you were so descriptive. You didn't leave a detail out and you put your thoughts and opinions into your own story. I had something similar happen to my family where my dad was involved in a shooting while he was on S.W.A.T. I was too young at the time to realize how dangerous the situation was or that he could never have come home that night. Thankfully he did, and now that I am older and understand, it makes me all the more grateful to be able to spend time with him. I really liked that you asked those questions at the end, because these kinds of things really make you think about the what ifs. I know I still do. Thanks for sharing your story.

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  17. I was so shocked to read this. I mean, you were so descriptive. You didn't leave a detail out and you put your thoughts and opinions into your own story. I had something similar happen to my family where my dad was involved in a shooting while he was on S.W.A.T. I was too young at the time to realize how dangerous the situation was or that he could never have come home that night. Thankfully he did, and now that I am older and understand, it makes me all the more grateful to be able to spend time with him. I really liked that you asked those questions at the end, because these kinds of things really make you think about the what ifs. I know I still do. Thanks for sharing your story.

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  18. Incredible story. The way you describe the situation you were put in during that stressful time in your life is incredibly realistic. By describing this event so realistically, you expertly put the reader in a position which causes them to feel as though they experienced what you went through. This helps to force the reader to think about what you were forced to think about, "what would we do if we lost one of our family members or someone we really cared about? Do I have any regrets?" Forcing the reader to ask these kinds of questions causes the reader to become engaged in the story and leaves a lasting effect on their lives.

    Sean Powers
    Cogswell
    Per.3

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  19. I'm so sorry that you had to go through something like this. This reminds me of some things that I've been through in the past. I really liked the way you said "We as humans are never promised another day to live.".
    Johnny D.
    Per 1

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  20. Oh snap. This was incredibly realistic and hard hitting. The emotional build up throughout this piece is pretty intense. It sucks that something like this happened. Anyways, good job with the detail in the piece, definitely contributed to the realism element.

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  21. Thank you for sharing this personal story. You did a great job in writing this because it was very descriptive in the beginning and it helped me to understand the situation that was present. I could feel all the emotions that you were going through. It was very well portrayed. I am glad that you and your family are okay now. This has taught me, as well as many other readers, valuable lessons that make us ponder and think about life. I know now to be closer to my family and to always be kind and love them. Good job!

    - Jessie Santos
    Period 1

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  22. I love how you chose to write about something so personal and i am so sorry that you and your family had to experience something like this. The way you went about your piece, the detail and emotion, is what really connected with me and you did such an incredible job telling your story. Thank you for sharing this piece. Great job.

    -Legend Holman p.3

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  23. its is a very fine piece! It was great how you described the situation with such emotion that just lured the reader into this and effected them profoundly! This is so descriptive and realistic. Good work!
    -Cristopher O. P.5

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  24. Normally when I read things I can't depict emotions, settings, or actions, but that was not the case for this piece at all. I love and appreciate how you managed to maintain such a high level of imagery throughout the entire story because it made it easier for an amateur reader like myself to fully grasp everything that was going on. By the end of the story I was sobbing with tears because the topic is so emotional, and the courage that you must have to share something as personal as this makes the piece even more impressive. Hands down, anyone who has lost a loved one in their life can really relate to the emotions that you've set in this piece. Fantastic writing. Thank you so much for sharing, Jessica. :)

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  25. Jess, I am so sorry your family had to go through such a terrible event. You are really courageous for sharing the true emotions, thoughts, and effects that come with an incident such as this one. I hope you, your parents, brother, and your grandma are all okay.
    Natalia Garcia
    Period 2

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  26. Reading your heartfelt piece made me feel like you were telling me a story in person. I love how you explained your emotions while going through this near fatal experience for your father, and described how he opened up to you about guilt and sadness. You simply expressed your emotions and opened up to tell us as readers a recent tragic event in your life. You are brave, and I love how you included a learning experience during your trials! Thank you for sharing Jessica!

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  27. Most of the times when people write about tragic events it's hard to really get a true feeling for what the event was like. Usually, I feel like there's a disconnect that prevents me from being able to feel the immense sadness that accompanies these stories but your narration made me catch a glimpse of how horrific the experience must have been.
    The imagery was powerful and made it that much more impactful. I'm sorry that your family had to experience this but I'm glad to hear your father is okay. Beautiful ending too with the importance of appreciating family.

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  28. I think this story is so heart felt because we all should cherish our families and always be grateful that we have them in our life's cause they can be gone in a blink of an eye and who knows if we fought or said something to the, we didn't mean but said it out of anger so always tell them you love them
    p.4 alexis medina

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  29. This story really hit me in the spot it was very touching. We should always cherish our families and always love them. Family is very important i our lives without them we are nothing. This story was really well thought of and sorry for what has happened. I hope you feel better in life and keep moving forward.

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  30. It's always wonderful when you can see somebody write this well about a tragedy that has happened in their lives, you know they survived it and they are stronger because of it. It helps the rest of us learn something about family and love as well, thank you for you story.

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  31. I really enjoyed this piece. I liked how you wrote on something personal and how family shouldn't be taken for granted. Being a family man, I feel this piece should really be recognized and appreciated. Good job

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  32. This piece touched my heart. I think many people tend to forget about how much their parents mean to them because of all the other stuff that is happening around them. I loved how you decided to share a personal story that made many people realize why and how their parents are important. I hope you and your father will be more close again in the future.

    -Valarie Ly
    Period 1

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  33. wow, This story really hit home for me because I'm always overwhelmed with home and practice its hard when I come home I'm ready to go to bed but after reading this I'm going to fit more time in for my family.
    Zya Woody
    Period 4

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  34. I eaxtually felt the emotion of the story flow through me as I read it. It's very believable and relatable. Even though I may not be as overwhelmed, I certainly understand your standing point. Overall great job. Very discriptive.

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  35. I eaxtually felt the emotion of the story flow through me as I read it. It's very believable and relatable. Even though I may not be as overwhelmed, I certainly understand your standing point. Overall great job. Very discriptive.

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  36. Wow this story really hit me hard, reading this story made me realize how important family really is. We should not take them for granted because every breath we individuals take, we are a breath closer to our death. Reading this piece made me realize that I should be spending time with my parents, even though my life is very busy. One day they may not even be there for me.

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  37. great job i really like how you think family is everything because family is the thing you have when all is lost

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  38. great job i really like how you think family is everything because family is the thing you have when all is lost

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  39. Jessica,
    This was such a heartfelt piece with such a great message. Your details really conveyed all of the emotions surrounding this tragic accident. Your writing was amazing with the imagery and descriptiveness. To share these emotions is really strong and your writing definitely showed that. It was an amazing piece, great job!
    Aubrianne Milton
    Period 5

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  40. This is a story that hits home even for people that haven't had a event like this happen to them, it gets people to think about the uncertainty of life. That everyday we take the things and people around us for granted. We never think what would happen if they were suddenly gone. Your state of shock and how you just had to lie down and so many thought running through your head, your descriptions gave the reader a sense of urgency that im sure that people feel in this situation. It really allowed the reader to feel sympathy and get them to think how they would react in this situation.
    -Marvin Virola
    P5

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  41. This piece is definitely something I think everyone should read because of the strong message you were able to clearly portray. Your descriptive language made it so easy to understand and follow your thoughts throughout this event. The strong sense of reality is very evident throughout this piece and touched my heart. I am very sorry you had to go through such a tragedy but I'd like to thank you for writing such an excellent piece because it definitely helped me open my eyes to reality. Great job!

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  42. When writing a literary work such as this, the hardest part of writing it is connecting the emotional landscape with that of the audience. You take that to a whole new level and envelop the reader within this immersive world of a little girl, with a lost father and family uniting themselves again. Personally, its hard to experience this at such a young age, and to understand it all only personifies that of a great mind, but back to the point. The diction, imagery, and power behind the phrasing in this piece truly sets the ambiance in which pulls at the emotional strings of every reader who views this work. Excellent job!

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  43. I really enjoyed this piece , I am so glad that everything worked out for your family and you still have your dad by your side . I pray that your dad will be able to move past this struggle, and begin to be the happy dad he once was to you and your family . I totally agree with you that family is important and we need to cherish every moment with them before we all adventure off into the new chapters of our lives , we never know what can happen the next day .

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  44. I loved this story so much. What I loved most was how it was slightly of a cautionary tale. Letting us know that it is important to love the people around us today and appreciate them while they are here, because tomorrow isn't always guaranteed. I loved how it was so detailed and you could literally picture the story you created as if it was right in front of you. Great Job!!

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  45. This piece really makes us take to heart and appreciate the people around us. It really touched my heart and showed how strong you are as a person. I appreciated your imagery and power of word in this. Amazing job!

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  46. This piece really makes us take to heart and appreciate the people around us. It really touched my heart and showed how strong you are as a person. I appreciated your imagery and power of word in this. Amazing job!

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  47. Wow! This story goes really deep. The story is so sad and mad me realize one thing; love your family for as long as you can. I have had these regrets with some of my own family that have passed away and should always enjoy my family. Great job!

    Ricky Martin
    Per.4

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  48. Heyooo Jessica, that was an amazing story and I love yhe detail you you have put into and how well you portrayed the emotions that you were feeling. I hope everything is well with your family. Also lovw the intro because of the details of when you had woken up to the situation.
    Period 5 Jorge Rodriguez

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  49. Heyooo Jessica, that was an amazing story and I love yhe detail you you have put into and how well you portrayed the emotions that you were feeling. I hope everything is well with your family. Also lovw the intro because of the details of when you had woken up to the situation.
    Period 5 Jorge Rodriguez

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  50. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  51. I really enjoyed this story it was great. I liked the detail you included in here. Great job (:
    period 4

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  52. this was a really interesting story I love the detail and I can tell you put a lot of time and effort into making your story great.

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  53. Great job! This was definitely a detailed story and i can tell you put a lot of time and effort into it. This really helps us to appreciate everything we have and everyone. keep up the great work.

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