WriteOn! 2024
8th Grade Winning Essays 2015
NATIONAL
1st Place - Sindi Vrenozi, Fier
Topic: If you could be famous for one thing, what would you be famous for? Why do you want to be famous for that?
The first thing that comes in my mind for this subject is being a famous architect. Maybe somebody else would say they would want to be a famous actor or singer, but I chose this profession. Even if it would be just one thing I would be famous for, I just want everybody to know me for centuries, because I feel pride for a thing that I do best. It's not like I want to show off for my creation, it's a feeling that I can't deny. I think that being an architect is a great and beautiful thing. You see miracles in different places, because its those buildings that amaze you, that make you feel special that you saw that building. Maybe your name won't be remembered for centuries, but the buildings, the creations, they live forever. I have seen a lot of, churches, towers, and I see that ancient buildings are the most amazing ones, because they have different styles like baroque, gothic, art deco, etc. These styles make you think more about them. You want to see more architecture because these creations of architecture are breathtaking. They kind of make your day. It's not like other famous people have made boring stuff, because everyone is special in their way, it's just that architecture makes you have interest in it. Everyone has heard of the 7 miracles of the world and they are not scientific stuff, it's just the imagination of big architects. There are tons of reasons why I want to be and architect and famous for this thing. I think that if I had made an amazing building, I would feel like I had everything in the world, everything I need. Architecture takes you to the world of imagination and creation. My favorite architect is Antoni Gaudi because he has done big creations that you could not even imagine. I hope you know the church Sagrada Familia in Barcelona in Spain. This is a big church, amazing, interesting, breathtaking that for my own surprise isn't finished yet. I can't even describe its beauty with words. It makes you go deep down into your thoughts. Every time I see creations like this I say to myself that how did he do this or how amazing he is or how great it would be to make something like that. Going on, my message is: "If you want to be famous, you gotta make something big, something interesting, something creative, something ever lasting." This is what I want to say, I don't want my name to be remembered, I want my creations to be remembered. I'm sorry if you don't think that ancient architecture is more beautiful than modern architecture, but this is my thought and nobody can change it. Ancient architecture is more ever lasting than modern architecture. Of course, modern architecture has its own crazy stuff, but I just love these ancient buildings like Colosseum, the pyramids in Egypt, they have their own special thing, like a different style, different materials, everything is different. That's why I want to be a famous architect. I just want everyone to say have you seen this building or this building is crazy. You know stuff like that. In no way, I want my name to be remembered. I just want my creation, my building, which is different from the others, would last forever as an image, a building that will live for centuries, an honored building. So when people would honor and respect my creation, I know that people really respect me, honor me for my creation: If I do something big, I swear I thank everybody for honoring my creation. So, it's an honor to do something interesting, breathtaking. This is the only thing I want to be famous for. The thing I would die for. So, yeah, that's all!
2nd Place - Xhenisa Harlicaj, Shkoder
Prompt: If you could be famous for one thing, what would you be famous for? Why do you want to be famous for that?
I’ve always wanted to be famous. I think about this even in nighttime. As some persons say, “Dream isn’t what you see when you’re sleeping, dream is what doesn’t allow you to sleep”…I want to be a scientist in the future. I love mathematics, phsyics and biology and I also spend much time with history lessons. The reason why I told this, has to do with my extraordinary invention. I want to be the inventer of a “Time Machine.” I get excited every time I say this… I imagine how good it can be if you could be back in the past or come back to the future whenever you want. Nowadays there are many questions that can’t be answered. If we look back in the past, we might understand almost everything. Always there are questions coming into my mind. “How did people live in the past? How were the heavy stones of the Egyptian pyramids carried? How was Stonehenge built? What is special in Da Vinci’s masterpiece? How was Einstein’s life?, etc” It would be a big honor to me if I invented this time machine. I know it will be hard, nearly impossible, but I can do everything if I have a big desire. You might think that a dream without a plan is just a wish, but in my case it’s different. Edison failed a thousand times trying to build the lamp, but he said he would do it… and he did it.
3rd Place - Ana Gjini, Fier
Prompt: One of your senses increases to be ten times stronger. What are the advantages and disadvantages?
On a subject like this, it really depends on which sense would increase. If I were to choose, I would prefer if my sense of sight increased by ten times. That would not only be incredibly helpful, but it would also benefit me in a lot of ways that no person ever thinks about. Just think about how that one simple extension would change the was someone looks at the world. We always think about how awful it must be to be colorblind, or even just blind. That’s because we compare our knowledge about colors or actually looking at things as clearly as we do, but, what we don’t understand is that those people have never experienced this, and have absolutely no idea of what they’re missing out on.
Think about this, then tell me, do we know what we are missing out on? Science has already discovered other beings’ advanced sight. I’m not talking about dogs, they have it worse than we do, what I’m talking about are creatures like owls, with their ability to actually see ultra violet rays. I’m talking about bees, that are able to identify the different types of flowers by just the way they look because of some extra ability that somehow makes them see colors we can’t even think of! That last one, however, it’s probably because it is physically impossible to imagine colors you’ve never seen… All these creatures see the world in such incredible ways and here we are feeling sorry about what beings with less developed sight are missing out on. Just like those beings, we don’t know what we are missing out on either. Unfortunately, there is no device or scientific solution to increase our sense of sight in such a way, but if there was even the slightest change, it would seem like the biggest difference to our eyes. Besides colors, there are many different ways that increased sight would benefit us, or benefit me, seeing as the theme of this essay depends on my opinion. People say that it’s the little things that count, right? The little things are the details, and this saying couldn’t be more right.
Have you ever thought about how it would be to have eyes as sharp as an eagles? It is a very interesting thought. Eagles are known to have what most humans refer to as “an eye for details.” Unlike humans, eagles aren’t only able to identify something if it does a movement big enough for them to notice. Their eyes are sharp enough to capture every single detail. Everyone knows how even the slightest movement can alert them. We’ve all seen documentaries where an eagle is hunting for its prey, and it seems like the little thing is just about to escape… but NO, it just moved enough for them to notice and the little guy is a goner. As we knew eagles, or birds in general are not known to have good hearing, so how did it detect the animal that quickly? Exactly how anyone would if their sight increased by ten times. An eye that sharp can capture any sort of movement, no matter how sharp. No more questioning if you have a creepy stalker, cause you’ll actually be able to notice them, right? I’m going to stop with the animal comparisons before this becomes more like animal planet than it already has. The point of having your sight become ten times stronger than it already is to have all these little perks and improvements, but we’re not only talking about advantages now are we?
Science has proved that people whose senses increase experience a decrease on one other sense (or just a little in all of them). Can you imagine having sight that good, but being unable to hear? Simply horrible. Sight that good would also mean that you get alarmed by every single little thing, and with your decreased hearing, how would you be able to hear those girls talking about how weird your head looks, popping out every second. With the increased ability to see colors it would also be terrifying trying to adapt to so many changes. Think about all the colors and constant movement that would forever be there. Just thinking about it makes my head ache. To close this too long essay who might have incredibly unexpected animal comparisons, I’m going to say that increased ability at sight would benefit us just as much is it would cause us problems, so find peace in your balance, and be happy with what you have.