The Celebration Of Love And Connection

“Everybody laughs the sane in every language because laughter is a universal connection.” — Yakof Smirnoff 

     To me, Christmas is a traditional celebration of love and connection. It is a time to show your appreciation, gratitude, and love for one another. Because so many people across the globe celebrate it in some form, Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to embrace people for a few short days and to recognize how fortunate we all are in being there for each other. Cheerfulness is ripe and abundant during the season and especially in the hearts of my family and me during our celebration. Early each Christmas morning, my sisters and I dart down the halls elated in every skip of our step charging eagerly to wake up our mom up so she won’t miss all of the excitement. As we briskly move downstairs, our mom tries to hold us back with what little energy she  has left from the night before. Our eyes pop at the sight of all the bows and bright red boxes under the tree. We gather round to open presents as good cheer fills the room.  The love and connection among us is overflowing in the celebration; the greatest gifts we shared in in seeing the smiles on each other’s faces. I know the meaning of Christmas isn’t about receiving gifts; it is the love and connection given and received that makes this holiday special. Embracing each other, deepening our connection, and cherishing the time we have together, we truly celebrate and rejoice with each other. 

During Christmas we also celebrate each other’s success from the past year and toast the good things we hope the new year will bring to us. What I have noticed about our traditional Christmas celebrations is that when we are together for this holiday, we are all truly present in the moment with each other. We live life to the fullest on this day. Our meals together even feel more special and connected. Because this day comes only once each year, it is sacred time.  We do not throw it away by being on our phones and not being with each other.  That’s what makes it feel so good.

How Ignorance Can Kill A Man

“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance”— Thomas Sowell

Ignorance is often the first step in the wrong direction. In the short story, “To Build A Fire”, by Jack London, an ignorant man avoids the warnings about the treacherous Yukon and must discover how to overcome his regrettable actions. The man will suffer greatly from this ignorance. The man’s lack of imagination led him to make foolish decisions, which sends him on an ignorant path towards death. 

“The furrow of the old sled trail was plainly visible, but a dozen inches of snow covered the marks of the last runners. In a month no man had come up or down that silent creek. The man held steadily on. He was not much given to thinking, and just then particularly he had nothing to think about save that he would eat lunch at the forks and that at six o'clock he would be in camp with the boys.”

In his arrogance, the man is unable to imagine the possibilities of the brutal cold he will experience.  he seems to think he has enough understanding and ability to handle whatever nature could send his way. His ignorance also causes him to neglect the precautions of the wise old man offered. “It certainly was cold, was his thought. That man from Sulphur Creek had spoken the truth when telling how cold it sometimes got in the country. And he had laughed at him at the time! ”Although the path showed how desolate and unused it has recently been, but the man was unable or unwilling to realize or even imagine the real dangers ahead of him. He did not even question why the path was not well-used or how cold it could get so that he could prepare himself or make a better decision about doing it another time when it was not so brutally cold. This inability to listen and pay attention about it sets him further on this fatal path.  In addition, the man becomes so desperate for warmth that he is overtaken by this need that he is unaware of the danger he is creating for himself. “It was as though he had just heard his own sentence of death.” Although he is already too late, his final attempt to sustain a fire has already killed him.  The man’s ignorance and arrogance made it so he was not able to warn himself about or warm himself from the cruel Yukon. His stubbornness and inability to imagine an achievable outcome distracts him from the brutal cold and sends him to his own death.    

In the end, the man’s ignorance and failure to imagine such hardships occurring to him did not allow him to be prepared for what was to come. Even before he set foot on that eerie path, those traits were his first steps on his fatal journey. 

Jack Moskow

The Gift Of Magi Literary Essay

Fitz English

December 7th 2018

love And Sacrifice In The Gift Of Magi

“There is no decision that we can make that doesn't come with some sort of balance or sacrifice.” - Simon Sinek

     Love is often part of the story of sacrifice, and the theme of love and sacrifice is evident throughout the short story “The Gift Of Magi” by O. Henry. In this story, the author portrays the idea that sacrifice is the greatest way to spread kindness. The characters sacrifice for each other out of love for one another.

Jack Moskow

Fitz English 8

December 2, 2018   

Overcoming Difficulties 

“Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know” - Pema Chördön

    You will need to overcome the sadness, the hard times, before you can learn from the experience. My father passed away when I was three years old. I wasn’t old enough to understand the heartache or just how truly devastating his death would be in my life. Sadness spread across my family for months after we first heard the painful news.  When sadness found me, it surrounded ame and affected me in so many ways. Unlike other boys my age, I didn’t have a dad to teach me how to skate as I grew up; I didn’t have a father to talk about guy things; I didn’t have someone who wanted to throw a football with or even have “the talk” with when I became a teenager.