<p>A bunch of people wanted to see something rare, a 12 essay with only 1 example. I did the one-example again on the November and got a 10, which is kinda lucky because I totally went off topic and my example was horrible. So I maintain that a 1-example essay is good because it stands out. </p>
<p>This is my entire essay, no editing (so you may find some grammar flaws and misspellings.)</p>
<p>Hat tip to anyone who recognizes my attention-getter and what story I'm REALLY referring to (I forgot the author and name so I just made it up) Hint: Initials are R.B. :D</p>
<p>FYI: I twisted the story a bit to suit my needs :)</p>
<p>ESSAY PROMPT</p>
<p>Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment:</p>
<p>I spent some part of every year at the farm until I was twelve or thirteen years old. The life that I led there was full of charm and so is the memory of it yet. I can call back the faint odors of wildflowers, the sheen of rain-washed foliage, the clatter of raindrops when the wind shook the trees, and the far-off hammering of woodpeckers. I can call back the prairie--and its loneliness and peace. Adapted from Mark Twain, My Autobiography</p>
<p>ASSIGNMENT: Is it important for people to spend time outdoors and to learn to appreciate the natural environment? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.</p>
<p>An ancient Shermian proverb states, "Our mothers craft the bowl, but it is Mother Nature that fills it up." This, too, is reflected in our modern life. As we become more and more industrialized, we must not forget the lessons our ancestors learned from the environment around them. The natural environment, if one looks around, has a surfeit of lessons hidden in every nook and cranny of it. Our most important characteristics, our ability to feel love and compassion, stems from our appreciation of the world around us.</p>
<p>In "A Timeless Hunt," by Louie Barnard, the world has become a technological wonderland. However, the people have severed all their ties with the environment, and are ruled by a totalitarian government that kills people for speaking against their choices. Through the mind of a nameless man, we see what caused the world to become that way. In a flashback, we see that the world was once caring and honest, ruled by a generous leader. However, in an illegal trip, the man and his friends use a time travel device to hunt dinosaurs. While they take great caution, his friend accidentally steps on a butterfly. The men dismiss it and travel back to their own time. To their shock and horror, they see that the world has drastically changed. Their generous leader is now replaced by a corrupt government. The sick, lame, and deaf are killed, and the old are slaughtered. Women are kept as slaves, used only as breeding farms. At the end of the reminiscence, he speculates that the death of the butterfly has destroyed the world. We, as human beings learn from the world around us. We learn and imitate. The butterfly, which is both beautiful and generous, as it will willingly sacrifice itself to protect that which it holds dear, taught our primitive ancestors a lesson. It taught them the ability to feel love and compassion, much like the butterfly to its young. Without the symbol of beauty and compassion in their life, our ancestors descended into acts of malice and hate, instead of love and compassion.</p>
<p>The environment has an abundance of lessons to teach us. As shown in A Timeless Hunt, it gives us the ability to show and feel compassion, what is arguably our most important characteristic. We tend to forget what an appreciation of nature can to, but we must always remember that nature will always be our teacher.</p>
<p>I didn't post this during Oct because I didn't get my 2400 yet. Now I'm posting it to give back to the community :)</p>