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Monday, April 10, 2017

"Amazement" by Makayla L



"The finest thing we can experience is the mysterious.  It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science.  He who does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle."
-  Albert Einstein
Amazement: a feeling of great surprise and wonder. Sure it seems simple enough literally yet how can one speak of an emotion so literal. The awe, the wonder, the curiosity, the enchantment, surprise, mystery, brilliance, disbelief, shock, etc., whatever you wish to call it, this world never ceases to amaze. To me amazement is waking up every morning. It’s seeing these dormant California wild flowers bloom after a wonderful season of rain, or even amazement in the rain that falls somehow carried by gas formations we call clouds. Amazed that baking cookies is all chemistry and that mathematicians equated such things. Amazement is the feeling of laughter shared with family. It’s found in how comforting a bed can be when one’s alarm sounds on a weekday. Amazement comes from observing the actions or thoughts of a friend that allow you to learn that much more about them, gain access that much deeper into their being. From acknowledging the countless life species who share this planet with us, from follicle mites living on your eyelashes to capybaras and sloths and down to the ocean where we still have no idea who’s living in the dark. It’s exploring a new town, state, even country and realizing what a melting pot we are blessed to grow up in. Amazement is the hundreds of languages, thousands of religions, millions of cultures that we may rarely open our eyes to. Forever amazed to think that the Moon, a simple rock stuck in our grasp, can create such energy to keep our feet grounded and give motion to the oceans. Amazed that sometimes randomly, our planet’s core spews out molten rock to give us a little evidence as to what’s within; simply absorbed by amazement of nature, the trees, flowers, oceans, valleys and mountains.  I find amazement in the hieroglyphics of those before; furthermore, how we even came to be today. Amazement is the wonders of humanity, yet simultaneous amazement in our complete stupidity as well. Amazed and mesmerized by the Great Coral Reef and Amazon rainforest yet wonderstruck, which we pollute and sell off these treasures for our own lives that aren’t even a decimal on the time scale of Earth. I am still amazed when others show manners or gratitude because they are becoming lost values. It’s the kindness of strangers or cruelness of friends. Amazement in how intense emotions can be and the power of our mind that we surely take for granted. It’s the little things that so easily influence ones day.
 To me, amazement is maintaining the optimism, the innocence, to be amazed by life.

29 comments:

  1. I'm amazed at how fulfilling your definition of the idea of amazement is, you completely capture the feeling in variety ways of expressing no matter how simple or toward today's issues among the hatred for others to neglecting by polluting the beauty of nature. Amazement is shown in your piece with an enlightening experience for me as a reader to continue to be in the state of amazement with appreciating the little things and protecting them so other's will later be able to too.

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  2. There are a lot of things we have in life that are underrated and this is definitely one of them. You're so right we take for granite the smallest things like a rainforest or good manners. You captured the true meaning of what it means to be amazed, great piece!

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  3. Wow, this was a beautifully written piece. I loved how you started it with a quote by Albert Einstein and how you described what amazement was to you. Your diction and detail was intelligently applied and you were able to effectively convey your appreciation for all the little things in the world. I loved how non-materialistic this piece was, for everything you mentioned is free, waking up every morning and such as laughing with family, instead of new technological gadgets. Overall, this piece left me in amazement!!

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  4. This piece was truly beautiful! It is so true how often we overlook the things that have so much detail and are entrancing just the way they are. Every little things that surrounds us is amazing and fascinating. The world is filled and overstocked with natural beauty and I love how you mention all of the things that us humans do not always think about. I also loved how you opened with the quote from Albert Einstein! Great job!

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  5. I was completely entranced by your piece. As I was reading, I was able to visualize everything you were describing due to the amount of detail you put into this. I also really love how you structured this piece. It felt very personal and flowed very well even though were describing many different things. I think this holds a very important message that everyone should think about and incorporate into their daily life. You did a great job Makayla!

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  6. Your piece was full of detail that allowed me to picture every little thing you were explaining. Your writing sparked a very big interest for me, it made me step back and appreciate all the little things that us humans often forget to see as something worth noticing, they are indeed very amazing. Great job!

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  7. I really enjoyed reading this piece and it helped me realize that there is beauty in everything no matter the size of it. The quote from Einstein is actually one of my favorite quotes, I read it when I was doing research on him in 8th grade. Good job!!

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  8. This is a really good piece! It makes me appreciate the little things that we sometimes take for granted. Really good use of detail!!

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  9. While reading this, I thought about how open minded we should be. Sometimes we get so caught up in material things that we forget to be amazed and look at the natural beauty and company surrounding us. I'm glad you recognize all the ways we can be amazed. Great story!

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  10. I really enjoyed your piece because it made me think. Writings that go in depth about a word or a phrase really intrigue me because I do not put much thought into that. I never really thought about how to describe "Amazement" and so I probably will think about it now. However, you summed it up perfectly in this whole piece. It has multiple meanings and you described them all. Great job!

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  11. I really liked your piece. The quote by Albert Einstein was unique and effective and helped put the rest of your writing in to perspective. Your various descriptive examples of amazement make this really touching and personal and I enjoyed every part of it. It was though provoking and introduced me to ways of thinking i hadn't really considered before. Great job!

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  12. I really liked the way you used the quote in the opening by Albert Einstein. The definition of amazement made me think more and be more open-minded.

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  13. Your piece was so interesting and I liked how you started with the quote from Albert Einstein. This had me really thinking about the different ways that things can amaze us, and how the connotation of amazement varies. Great job!

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  14. This was a beautiful piece. I loved how pure and innocent this was, I do agree we definitely take many things in life for granted when we are only immersed in our selves and things concerning us. Nature should be valued and preserved just like you said. I hope your piece inspires others to look at the world around them in a different light.

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  15. Great job this piece is really nice! i really like how you start your piece off with a nice attention graving hook. Amazement is such a special thing because it can be something so amazing haha. Besides that I absolutely enjoyed reading this and how you worded your piece in such a way that makes it not only easy to understand a relate to but also makes you think which is a great thing. just as others have mentioned it is a great piece and it should inspire others.

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  16. Great way to analyze the topic of how humans are drawn to everyday life, which is obviously the concept of curiosity, mystery, and amazement, in which you clearly stated in your story. I like the way you mention environmental problems and I'm still amazed to our stupidity as the human race too, your not alone! Great Story very deep for a simple idea.

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  17. You did a great job at taking a simple word and vastly expanding its definition. Your own examples make the description both more personal and more structured and believable.

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  18. I really enjoyed this piece and how you managed to show your take on the concept of amazement. I love how you expanded its definition to not only include the extraordinary, but the everyday, normal things we see and experience often. I also like how you incorporated nature into this piece. The quote in the beginning also helped support your definition of amazement. Great job!

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  19. I love the sense of optimism in this piece, it truly made me smile. You provide great detail that gave me clear images of everything that was mentioned. I've never really thought about how amazing these things can be and began to appreciate it all. I always tend to disconnect myself at times from these beautiful things in life, thank you for reminding me of what I should take the time to be amazed by.

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  20. Makayla, I love your definition of amazement and how it shown through everyday objects and experiences with nature, friends, and family. I feel that if everyone looked at the world the way you see it all of us will be less afraid to take risks and challenge ourselves the way that we have always wanted to. Thank you for sharing this.

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  21. Great job at describing what the word amazement means to you. Starting your piece off by including a quote by Albert Einstein really grabbed the reader's attention. Your use of diction and detail helped convey your message that we tend to overlook the small things in life and the beauty that lies behind them. Overall, this was a great piece!

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  22. Makayla, you exude joy and everything good about this world just from your piece. I love the simple sentences and anecdotal examples that can make anyone relate to what you listed. I feel like I live life in a constant fear and anxiety because of how vast and ambiguous it is, but you offered a completely opposite view of this given the optimistic tone you created. I agree that many of these things have amazed me before but I never really categorized them under that word 'amazement'. The quote from Einstein was a good opener and completely relevant to the piece that added the perfect touch! AMAZING JOB!!!

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  23. I love this piece for the fact that you described so many precious things in life and around us, that we tend to just pass by without acknowledgement. The way how every observation was detailed allowed for readers to easily visualize it. I thought it was brilliant how you added the quote, which exposes the readers mind to a new view of life that not many have. Overall great job!

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  24. This was beautifully written. They way you defined amazement and how you view it is something everyone should think about. The detail in each amazement you described, from waking up to flowers was great. Great job!!

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  25. Your post had me hooked right from the start with the quote from Albert Einstein. I loved how you described an everyday task like baking cookies and pointed out what makes it amazing. Your post really put things into perspective and showed me to appreciate the small things in life.

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  26. The sentence structure of the piece is really what caught my eye, and me personally I'm not a fan of that sentence style but it worked wonders fro your piece. I am also really happy that you chose a word that everyone seems to know and yet you deconstructed to thinks in life that amazed you. Great piece!!!!

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  27. I loved it makayla! It so true that nature is truly beautiful and we shouldn't take for granted its amazing features that surround us every day. The way you made the piece very visual helped to imagine all of the details that you were explaining and I liked your descriptive word choice.

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  28. Your writing definitely stood out amongst others and shared an important topic that isn't discussed or shared as much as it should be. Your perspective definitely stands out and I also like that quote you put in from Albert Einstein to start off, great work.

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  29. I really enjoyed this piece because it made me realize all the things on Earth that I take for granted. There is so much to be amazed by and I feel like I could perfectly visualize everything that you were describing. I think we all need to be more optimistic and value earth a lot more than we do.

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