Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Priceless


What is the true meaning of worth? Is it how much it costs or how much it means to you? Is it how much you could sell it for or how much it has changed/affected your life? What would you rather have, a million dollar jewel or loving friends and family? These are tough questions and each individual person probably has their own answers and reasons for it.



Nearly everyone I know has an MP3 player or an IPod. Why? Because music is enjoyable, and (sometimes!) soothing. I have a Sansa SanDisk e250 MP3 player, which I got for my birthday last year. It is black with a blue, glowing, dial that can spin and fuctions similarly to the dial on the Ipod. My headphones are light blue like the dial. My MP3 is 2 gigabytes. I listen to my MP3 nearly every night because it helps me fall asleep. Also, I listen to it on airplanes and on long car rides. Listening to my MP3 relaxes me and helps me forget about any problems I am having. When I listen to my MP3, I feel like I am in another world, where nothing matters but music. Also, having an MP3 allows me to listen to music in places where music is not readily available. Surprisingly, it also helps me do my homework. If I listen to it while I do my homework, I find I can focus better. If It also helps me memorize my marching band music, because I put the songs I have trouble with onto it. I love having an MP3 because if I am bored I listen to it. I listen to it a lot when I am sad or upset because it can help calm me down. Having an MP3 is probably one of the most important items I own. Music is a big part of my life, which I love, and my MP3 allows me to experience what I love in anyplace imaginable. It just takes me away to somewhere carefree without any problems. Without my MP3, I would feel diconnected from the music world, and that would make me sad : (.




Something else that means a lot to me is having a dog. I have other pets besides my dog too. I also have a cat, two rabbits and a guinea pig, all of whom I love and would never sell for any price. My dog's name is Sasha and she is a purebred Blue Tick Coon Hound, whom we bought for $250 from a breeder on October 30th 2006. She is mostly black with some white patches that have black spots. She also has orange brownish legs and eyebrows (the picture above is of her). She is two years old and full of energy. Everytime I come home from school, she jumps up and down and wags her tail frantically. It's nice to have someone who likes you for who you are. I teach her new tricks, hard ones, like play dead, roll over, bow, give high fives, spin in a circle, jump up in the air, and others, which no one else in my family seems to be able to do. I have a special bond with her. Sometimes if I'm having bad day, I will just give her a hug and it will help me feel better. She knows when to play around and have fun, but she also knows when to stay calm and quiet. If you don't have a dog, then you can hardly understand, the relationship you form with them. They aree so loyal and trusting that it is unbeleivable Dogs (well, mine at least) allow you to do nearly anything you want to them if they think it willl make you happy (for example, dreesing her up in a tiger costume last Halloween!) Having a dog gives me a walking companion, a listener, and a friend.




It is hard to imagine similarities between a chunk of metal and a living, breathing, organism. Surprisingly though, to me there are many similarities. Both of these items can cheer me up when I'm down, and they can both can help me wind down and relax after a hard day at school. I cherish both of these thing although if I had to choose, I would pick my dog, over my MP3, on any day, because I actually have a relationship with her, whcih I would lose without her. If I got rid of my MP3, it could easily be replaced.

3 comments:

rose said...

This was a very good essay and I also value my dog and mp3 player so I can relate to everything you said in your essay. Your dog sounds very nice and your mp3 seems like it helps you a lot for music and marching band. I felt a similarity between you and me because you seem to understand that a dog is not something you can just buy, you have to love it. You have to make it happy, take care of it, and have a meaningful relationship with him/her.
I think both of your valuable things were described well but I liked your mp3 the best. I found it interesting that you listen to your mp3 a lot. It helps you relax and calm down when you feel bad. This might make me listen to my pmp3 more often now.
One of your stengths was your introductory paragraph. You started it like no one elses that I have seen already and it's very unique. It makes the reader want to read more of the essay even if they don't care about a dog or mp3. This essay would probably make people start to like dogs and maybe even get one for themselves. Since it made you so happy than maybe it will make them happy too.
The only thing that I would suggest is to check your grammar. There were only a few mistakes in the paragraphs that I saw. Other than that your essay was very good and I think you will get a good grade on it.

Sarah said...

I think that Leona’s essay was well written. She started off with asking her reader a few questions to get them hooked. I liked how she started her essay because it was original, and it also got me thinking about things I value, and relating them to Leona’s values. Leona strongly values her ipod, and her dog.

I personally think that Leona didn’t really describe her ipod, or her dog at all. I think that she just wrote about what it was, and why it is valued to her. I think that both paragraphs lacked detail and that neither of them were stonger than the other.

This essay was very clear to me, and was enjoyable to read. I think the strongest feature in this essay was Leona’s ability to use voice in her writing. I really understood why she values these things. I think her opening paragraph and closing were very good.

One piece of advice I would give Leona would be to add more description to her paragraphs. Her reader should be able to picture what her valuable item looks like, and also picture a scene about her priceless moment. I also think that her dog isn’t much of a priceless moment because you still paid for her. I think that should be changed.

Hannahhh! :] said...

In her essay, Leona is trying to pull the reader in, get their attention and I think she does a very good job of this. I really liked the way she asked for the readers' opinion by asking wether they would want a million dollar jewel or family and friends who love and care for them. Personally, I would choose my family and friends, even though music is one of the most important things in my life also.

I believe that your MP3 was described better but you could still use a little bit of work on both your item and object. I like the way you say when and how you use your MP3 and to be honest, I use mine at all the same times.

One of the strengths in this essay was definitely your introduction. I really like the way you try to capture your audience.

I think you could improve your essay by elaborating a little bit more on your moment. You sort of just described you rdog, but you did not describe a specific moment with your dog.

very well written otehrwise! nice job!