Kyle's Essay

Kyle Sebastian

Professor H. Salsich

English 9

28 April 2009

Whats Is This Feeling:

An Essay on Kindness.

TS: Kindness is a common human trait that many people use. SD: Sometimes to understand what kindness is people have to understand other things. CM: Sometimes you have to feel sorrow before you can feel happiness. CM: Sometimes you have to lose something to gain something as well.

TS: Naomi Shihab Nye tries to explain that before one can understand kindness they have to understand other things. SD: What Nye knows and many people need to understand is that loss is essential for gain. CM: To gain something you nearly always have to sacrifice something in return. CM: Sometimes losing things can hurt, but the end result of you losing them can be a kindness that life has dealt you. SD: Another thing Nye understands is that life is different for everyone. CM: Sometimes you have to step into someone else’s shoes and look at life from a different point of view. CM: Maybe you should try and think about how “the Indian in a white poncho” sees things. CM: You do other people a kindness by taking the time to see through their eyes and get their perspective. SD: The last thing that Nye says is essential to obtaining kindness is to know sorrow first. CM: Sometimes to truly appreciate the good things in life we must experience the bad. CM: At times you have to do things you don’t like, but in the end things may end up being in favor for you. CS: Once you understand these other things you can find kindness.

TS: “Winter Dreams” may seem to have no connection with “Kindness”, but Dexter, an ostentatious young man, is actually the perfect example of how to obtain kindness (Appositive). SD: Dexter had to lose something to gain something. CM: He had lost Judy, the woman seeming to consume his heart, body, mind and spirit (Tetracolon climax). CM: Dexter says "Now that thing is gone, that thing is gone. I cannot cry. I cannot care. That thing will come back no more." He has lost Judy, but has gained a sound mind and is able to think clearly again. SD: Dexter also had the chance to see through someone else’s eyes. CM: He was treated like the many other suitors Judy had and wasn’t taken seriously by Judy. CM: He got a glimpse at what the other men under Judy’s charm felt like, he wore his heart out on his sleeve and in turn Judy had crushed it when it was vulnerable (Loose Sentence?). SD: Dexter also had to feel sorrow before he could find kindness. CM: When the man described what Judy had become Dexter was stricken with an overwhelming amount of sorrow; his “sun [had] gone down.” CM: Dexter may not notice it, but the man did him a kindness because he could then move on with his life and forget about Judy. CS: After close examination “Winter Dreams” really had more connections to “Kindness” than I thought.

TS: I have experienced many of the things Ms. Nye mentions in her poem “Kindness.” SD: I’ve had to lose something to get something in return many times in my life. CM: There are many insignificant situations that I’ve had to let something go, but ended up getting something better in return. CM: An example is when I had to spend my allowance to get my brother something for his birthday at first I was angry and upset with him, but after I realized that his happiness was worth more than some printed paper. CM: Important things, like a loved one or a prized possession, haven’t slipped from my grasp very much and I am thankful that I am that fortunate. SD: I also have to frequently step into somebody else’s shoes and look at a situation from their point of view. CM: Often friends come to me complaining about another person and I usually try and imagine myself as the other person and explain to my friends what that other person may be feeling like. CM: This is a great kindness to the people whose feelings you are trying to understand, but it also is a good thing for people to learn because it teaches consideration. SD: Lastly I have felt adversity many times before I was given kindness. CM: Usually what tempts people to be kind to someone is because the other person is in a sorrowful state and they want to cheer them up. CM: When I feel depressed I am often supported by my family and friends who try to be as benevolent as they can. CS: My life and many other people’s lives have been expressed in a simple poem by a simple woman.

TS: Kindness is a universal technique that helps you communicate to others in a positive way. SD: There are many different ways you can express kindness to another person; it can be something small, like saying hello with a smile or something big, like supporting someone in a time of crisis (Loose Sentence ?). CM: Whether it’s giving something away, cheering someone up, or looking through another person’s perspective kindness can be expressed easily. CM: However the best part about kindness, is that it always comes back to you.

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