Saturday, February 8, 2014

Embrace Life, Brace for Death




I want to showcase my amazing daughters.  Both Lucia and Adelina had a writing assignment this past week.  And, I was thoroughly impressed with the depth of their writings. 

This past week, Lucia’s school celebrated Catholic School’s Week.   One of their school assignments was to write a letter to their parents.  The parents were invited to have lunch with their student, and they were presented with the letter from their child.  As I stood in the school reading Lucia’s letter tears ran down my face.  Of course I was humbled at Lucia’s expression that we have to do without because of our choice to send her to a private school.  And yes, this is awkward for me to present to the world.  However, what Lucia was expressing that she understood was of much greater importance to me.  An 11 year old child understands and appreciates the sacrifices that are made due to her brother’s health.  She realizes that the education she is receiving is of great value and comes at a high price.  We are truly blessed to have our daughter receive this education, and furthermore Cesar and I are blessed to have a child that recognizes and appreciates this at such a young age. 
 



In addition, this past week Adelina completed an assignment for her Literature class.  The topic was on the writings of Emily Dickenson, specifically on the topic of death.  Her teacher challenged the students to explore and analyze Emily’s perspective on death.  Below is the paper that Adelina wrote as a sophomore at Bishop Kelley High School.  The depth that Adelina portrays in her paper is quite impressive.  It is my opinion that our personal life has forced our children to see life as a true gift from God.  Every aspect of your life should be absorbed.  And, when this life passes, you will be prepared for death and the amazing gift of eternal life.  

The following was written by Adelina Segovia, submitted on her 16th birthday, January 27, 2014. 

          One of the most common themes in Emily Dickson’s poems is death. Readers assume that because she writes of it so often she must be obsessed with it or maybe even scared of it, like most people are.  Emily’s view on death is in fact extremely different than many others, solely because she is not frightened by it. She is not frightened by it because she is familiar with it, she has already cut loose of all her attachments, and she believes strongly in her religion.
Emily is not frightened by death because she is familiar with it and the reasoning for that is she has already experienced the way dying feels, she knows the characteristics of it, and she has been to heaven. To begin, Emily has no fright of death because her “life closed twice before its close” (My Life Closed Twice Before its close). Through her poem she tells readers that two tragedies in her life have already occurred that allowed her to experience death. Often times the more people experience situations the more comfortable they become with them. Therefore, because Emily feels as if she has already experienced death she is no longer afraid. Secondly, in Emily’s poem Because I could not stop for death, she personifies death as a gentleman. A gentleman is polite and kind and therefore readers can see she thinks highly and is unafraid of the end of her life. Usually death is viewed as unavoidable, but Emily feels as if “He kindly stopped for [her].” This implies that death was coming to meet Emily on her own terms, like a gentleman would. Above all, Emily is familiar with death because she “went to heaven” (I Went to heaven). Maybe Emily did not actually go to heaven, but she thinks she did. She is now familiar with God’s perfect kingdom, which would make her in fact in a hurry to die already so she could be with Him. Because Emily has already had the experience of dying, knows deaths characteristics, and has been to heaven she is completely familiar with death in every way which withdraws her from any fright of death.
Humans are often scared of death because they feel as if they are not ready. The people on their death bed are not ready to leave their loved ones behind, they are not ready to give up their worldly possessions, and they are definitely not ready because they have more to accomplish. In the first place, people are not ready to leave because they know that their loved ones will be upset to see them go. When people love someone they never want to see them upset; therefore, they wish they could stay with them forever. When Emily is on her death bed “the eyes beside had wrung them dry” (I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died). This implies that the people who love her are no longer upset anymore. They are ready for her to go; furthermore, she is ready to leave. In addition, people are never ready to leave behind all their worldly possessions that they have worked so hard for. Once Emily knew that death was approaching her, she “willed away [her] keepsakes signed away what portion of [her she] could make assignable” (Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died).  By writing this she has made it obvious to readers that she is ready to leave this world and she is showing this by proving that there is nothing left in this world for her.  Ultimately, humans aren’t ready because they feel as if they have more to accomplish in life in order to achieve success. Emily, a very intelligent woman, figured out that “success is counted sweetest by those who ne’er succeed” (Success is Counted Sweetest). She is not worried about accomplishing more, because she already knows that those who are considered successful will never be satisfied with themselves. These people will never be satisfied with themselves because they will never appreciate their success as much as those who lack it. As readers can see, Emily is not frightened of death because her loved ones are okay, she has no possessions left, and she has figured out that not having increases her appreciation for whatever she lacks. Emily is ready for death.
It is man’s nature to fight until the end, because no matter how religious people are when death approaches, they will fight due to human’s doubt and uncertainty. Not Emily Dickson though, she is a strong Calvinist who is confident in her religion, which then allows her not to be frightened of death. Emily believes in God’s ultimate plan and death being an extension of life. First, Calvinist believes that Christ saves people through his grace and not by their effort. Emily was so strong in her faith that she knew that her fate was already sealled by God and “retreat was out of hope, behind, a sealed route” (The Journey). Therefore, there was no point in her worrying about death, because God already had a plan for her and there was nothing she could do to change that. Secondly, Emily is waiting for “that last onset” (I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died). In Emily’s poem she uses the oxymoron “last onset” where “last” refers to the end and “onset” referring to the beginning. This oxymoron is proof in her believing that death is the beginning of eternal life. Therefore, readers can see that Emily is unique because she is so strong in her religion and truly believes in God’s ultimate plan and death being an extension of life.
In conclusion, Emily Dickinson is often misunderstood because she writes of death so frequently. Emily lived her life in seclusion not because she was depressed, but only because she is familiar with death, ready to leave this world, and is utterly religious which is unlike anyone else. What readers should realize is that Emily is showing the world that she is unique, different, and one of a kind which leads her to not be frightened by death.

Luci & Addi, we love you and applaud your depth and gratitude at such a young age.  You will make a difference in this world!