1 They All Just Went Away Essay Paper

Journey Kevin Valdivia DeVry University Professor: Barbara Monaghan

Journey As a child I often wondered if there were other worlds for myself and our current world to explore. I like to think that a lot of people fancy the same thought. The reasons for the urge to explore can vary, from hatred of their own worlds in which they live in, to the simple joy of discovery. Often though, once people do a little reflecting and positive thinking, they sometimes reach a conclusion that they are satisfied with the world they currently live in. When I say world, I am putting a lot of weight into the meaning. The base form of our world is Earth, and separated by its land masses, comes down to the cities, the culture, the events within society, to the multiple standards of society divided by countries, down to the people. And finally, each individual perceives this world, in his/her own unique way. If we were to perceive another persons perception of the world, we come to understand not only of ourselves as human beings, but of our own world. How we think of our world afterwards depends on the individual. Its hard to imagine a person who had endured so much pain and turmoil to be ever capable of not only being successful, but more importantly, happy. In my own personal opinion, I believe the opposite. I believe it is these special individuals who become the most successful. In terms of happiness, that can evenly apply to anyone who finds what makes them happy in their lives. The many trails, good and bad experiences, and every moment where we learn in general, can make us stronger, in every sense of the word. Our multiple experiences help shape us to become (hopefully) better people in our lives. One of the many aspects in which is important to our preparation of becoming enlightened with wisdom is the setting. The places where we encounter our knowledge and wisdom gaining is just as important as the knowledge and wisdom themselves are.

To this day I live in this very strange neighborhood, in which can still mesmerize me in my sad and happy days. The area I live in has multiple apartment buildings, and various minigrocery stores and small delis. Yet, my apartment building is on the block which separates two completely different worlds. On one side is the area with various apartment buildings and ministores. On the other side is Bergenline Avenue. This special street is quite a long one, and every building along the road is nothing but stores, and services of various kinds. From simple grocery stores, to diners, to hardware stores, to service stores, to banks, one could conveniently find the bare necessities to live a half-decent life, financially speaking. Whenever I walk between this border, I come across people walking casually to their next destination of shopping, and I notice how fascinating it is to witness something so different from the apartment buildings, where less people wander the streets compared to Bergenline. It feels as though I was living in an area where two worlds connected. I could freely walk between them, yet although the two worlds were different, they were similar. Danticat wrote her essay based on her experiences during her childhood, living in the city. Joyce wrote about her experiences living in the countryside. My fascination between these two stories relates to my world. The two authors had their own separate worlds in which are relatively opposite from each other, and yet after reading them, reminds me of the world in which I live in. While true, I live in somewhat of a city, its more of a town, but the activity within Bergenline Avenue resembles that of a city, and the apartment building area being so empty and miniscule, reminds me of a concrete countryside.

At night time, the area I live in becomes a whole different world in itself. It relates to the area to in its own way. The night becomes dark to a point where the air feels calm more than any kind of sense of worry. Cats prowl the night minding their own business, adding to the calm nature. This sense of calmness reminds me of the two authors when writing their stories. Their sense of providing the reader all the sad and positive emotions while leaving the reader in a calm state certainly brings back those feelings of calmness I get when walking the nights of my hometown, somewhat like one of the cats who walk the night as a shadow complimenting the scenery. Its funny and ironic how in other countries, a black cat symbolizes good luck rather than how America perceives it as bad luck. If thats not positive thinking I dont know what it is. Another aspect in which is irreplaceable to our learning of knowledge and wisdom is the journey in which we take to better ourselves. While we learn various things in life in many ways, some of them unique, we sometimes realize that while we are doing all of this, it is a journey in and of itself, one that we are still on. A journey doesnt have to relate to physical traveling, nor does it require a destination, but rather the journey itself is more important because it contains those experiences along the way. I noticed that in Danticat and Joyces essays they re-told their past journeys, and in Joyces essay I noticed that her journey did include physical travel. She explored abandoned houses and across the fields she experienced life in her own way. Danticat had a different journey in that, she never realized she was on one until the journeys end of two other souls who died in her story. The fact that a persons journey could end so sudden and soon, helped her be aware of the importance of a persons journey through life and it hopefully helped her become a better person for it. Im sure she is. The worlds for their journeys are different, yet similar. While one lives in a busy city filled with people living out their days, the other lives in a location where people are scarce, and memories are left behind.

Despite the many differences in multiple worlds there is always a similarity no matter how you perceive it. The journey is one we all take. We can live in very different worlds, but in the end, we walk the same path. Its like crossing the George Washington Bridge, but you are walking instead of using a car. We are all heading to a destination, or we dont know it yet, but the fact is we are crossing the bridge to get there, one way or another. Living near Bergenline avenue, I remind myself that even if I wished to live in a different world, or wish to visit a new world, I know that I can easily live a happy life regardless of what world I live in. Danticat and Joyces stories contained one last detail about a worlds journey that should be worth mentioning. While people and living creatures can die, their journeys influence remains. A person can be mourned for, but how they died shouldnt be considered. It is the way how they lived their life, their journey that is far superior. We can learn from another persons journey to become better people. Its no different than learning from history to prevent future mistakes. Since people can relate their lessons from their journeys with others, worlds can connect. The worlds we live in and our individual journeys are one we must walk with confidence, a sense of pride, and with joy knowing that we have been blessed with a journey to take. What we leave behind should be something people can learn from our journeys.