The House on the Hill
05/21/2020
My (nearly) solitary walk in the woods
“The question is not what you look at,
but what you see”
-Henry David Thoreau
A walk in the woods. A walk in the woods with my dog. A walk in the woods with my dog and me. A nearly silent stream trickles along surrounded by large rocks. I jump to the other side while my dog chooses to walk straight through the stream. Some more wetlands lead to an almost perfect path covered in leaves. weaving through trees and hopping on rocks, we finally arrive to this silent yet screaming haven.
A birds chirp echoes and the woods do not thin. Through more wetlands I hop, and my dog walks, until I see it. A house, sitting neatly on the hill above. I don’t want to freak them out, but I am curious so we go a bit closer. There stands a solitary stone wall that seems to continue forever onward. Thinking it might be best to follow this wall, I soon forget the direction I came from.
Lost in the woods with my dog, what a way to go, but alas I do have my phone on me so I use google maps to point myself in the right direction. I head that way to find a large river that I forgot about crossing, this river was sprinkled with some, unbeknownst to me at the time, wobbly stones. I set my foot on the first and I almost fall, But I continue onward. With one stone left I realize, quickly after I place my foot on it, that it was the worst of them all. I hop off it immediately to go to my dog that has been patiently waiting for me.
With the rest of the way home being an easy journey, I return home with a dog covered in mud and a mind full of thought.
I liked how much you used the "I" phrase in this piece even though you didn't have to. I know that, at least in my experience, I tend to shy away from using this style too much because it can be quite difficult to use correctly, and that is something you did very well, making the piece meaningfull and eloquent.
Posted by: Nick Brady | 05/10/2020 at 01:55 PM
I loved the images and action you used in this assignment. You described the scene so well, and I felt like I was there with you. I really liked your effort in this post, and think this is a very unique and special story.
Posted by: Colin Soukup | 05/10/2020 at 05:10 PM
I love your opening sentence! The repetition really gets the point across! I love the flow of this piece as it keeps it simple and enjoyable.
Posted by: Will | 05/10/2020 at 05:47 PM
I love the repetition you used in the first paragraph, which really did a good job at setting the tone for the story. You added great details to give us a better idea of what this may have looked like. Great job!
Posted by: William O'Malley | 05/10/2020 at 10:57 PM
The opening paragraph of this piece was amazing. You really described the journey or walk you were on with your dog beautifully. You also engaged the reader well with the repetitiveness of the first paragraph it was a cool way of starting this story off. Great writing Max!
Posted by: Rory Kennealy | 05/11/2020 at 08:18 AM
This is so cool and it reads more like a poem that an essay in a good way. I almost felt like I was there with you and your dog straddling streams and looking within a deep and searching soul.
Posted by: Fitz... | 05/12/2020 at 09:53 AM