Explanatory Prompt Essay | Teen Ink

Explanatory Prompt Essay

July 18, 2011
By gabsgarcia PLATINUM, Hillsborough, New Jersey
gabsgarcia PLATINUM, Hillsborough, New Jersey
37 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
Be true to yourself


“Life’s important lessons may not necessarily be taught in school.” This quote has been passed on from generation to generation. As many people refer to this quote for guidance, they learn that life lesson’s can be learned outside of school instead of in it. As this quote first begins, two important words are used. Those two words are life’s lessons. Life’s lessons can be taught by a teacher, but honestly the student will probably not listen until he or she goes through it him or herself. For example, “At first you don’t succeed, try again.” is a life lesson. A student will probably learn this either through sports or learning something new in school that he or she didn’t understand at first. A student herself named Fran has gone through this and still does. When she was in fifth grade she learned that she has a type of dyslexia and had to go to a different school to help her. Fran was very adamant about going there, but in the end she learned something about herself that she once did not see. She realized that she could do everything that her older sister could do in school and, in fact, a lot better. She learned that she could excel in things that she thought was once impossible. Fran learned that even though she has dyslexia she wasn’t going to let it control her life; instead, she learned how to live with it and enjoy the things she loved most in school.
Life’s lessons are a story within themselves. They open up new chapters in people’s lives and people want to know what will happen next, but until they turn the page and start a new chapter they won’t be able to finish the story. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom has one of life’s greatest lessons in it, and that lesson is learning the meaning of life. Tuesdays with Morrie talks about Mitch Albom reconnecting with one of his old college professors named Morrie. Mitch learned that his old college professor is dying from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and only had months left. Mitch learned of his old professor’s condition when he read an article in the Boston Globe that said, “A Professor’s Final Course: His Own Death” and knew from there he had to go and see his old professor. As the story goes on Mitch and Morrie reconnect and decide that every Tuesday from that day forward they would meet and talk about things that were bothering them. Mitch Albom and Morrie talk about a lot of things; for example, they talked about the world they lived in, about feeling sorry for themselves, the regrets they had, and the fear of death. As Morrie’s condition became more critical, Mitch knew that the time they had left would soon be ending. Morrie and Mitch spent fourteen weeks together and their last class was spent on saying their last good-bye. Morrie soon died after that with his family close by him. Mitch Albom tells his readers that before he reconnected with Morrie Schwartz he felt lost in the world. He also tells his readers that after spending those fourteen weeks with Morrie it changed him, and he realized he found his way back. “The class met on Tuesdays. No books were required. The subject was the meaning of life. It was taught from experience.” Mitch Albom relates his book to the quote, “Life’s important lessons may not be taught in school.” He proves to his readers that even though he wasn’t in college anymore, he was still learning from his old college professor.

Life’s lessons are learned either through connecting with an old college professor or learning from a mistake. America’s life lesson was when the world seemed to come crashing down on September 11, 2001. It was one of the most tragic times for everyone in the United States because two planes crashed into the World Trade Center. People at first did not know what was going on. Everyone thought that when the first plane hit the tower; it was by accident, but when the second crashed they knew something worse was about to come. As this was going on, two other planes were hijacked in the same area. One of the planes hit the Pentagon while the other crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. These four planes were taken over by terrorists, and the only plane that had knowledge of what was going on tried desperately to stop it, but unfortunately the plane crashed. In the “Star Spangle Banner” the last line says that “we are the land of the free and home of the brave”; those people on that flight who tried to stop it didn’t die for nothing. They died because they wanted to prove that America was about freedom and that America was brave enough to stand up in what was right. Even though the world of the United States seemed like it was shutting down, people started to realize that the only way to get through that tough time was to become a nation again and help one another out. That’s when America turned itself around and became a nation that everyone could be proud of, especially for all the men and woman who died on that day. Life lessons can bring a nation back together from ruins or show a person the true meaning of life when all else seems to fail. Either way life’s lessons are supposed to be taught in life rather than being taught in an old dingy classroom.


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