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!
