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Third Place Winner Level II -  Alaina Templeton
Corning Junior High School
"Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom

                                                                                                                   

            Dear Mitch Albom,

             Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to know that your time as a living being on Earth is coming to an end.  In reality, we are all going to die someday, but what if that day was coming sooner than it should?  I ask myself what I would do if I knew I was going to die of something other than natural causes.  Would I be prepared to say goodbye to my friends and family?

            While reading Tuesdays with Morrie, I began thinking more about death, and what I feel would fulfill my life before I die.  The book has inspired me to think on a deeper level and caused me to stop taking everyone for granted.  I started thinking more about what I really want in life.

            Parts of this story made me smile and others made me feel sad.  I could personally relate to what Morrie's family was going through because my grandma also had Lou Gehrig's disease.  I was afraid to be around her because I didn't like seeing her struggle so much after she had lost all of her independence because the disease had started breaking down her nerve and muscle systems.  This really bothered me because before, my grandma was so healthy and could do most things that nobody her age could.  I didn't understand what it was like for her until I read this book.  I realized that even though she didn't look like she used to and couldn't do the same things, she was still the same person in her thoughts.  I regret not talking to her after she wasn't able to talk as clearly because I didn't like listening to her hard swallows and slurred speech.  The book helped me remember the good times and the bad times with my grandma like going to her house just for a milkshake, or in more difficult times, helping her walk out the door because she wasn't strong enough.

            I could easily relate to Mitch while he told how he was caught up in the materialistic ways of life.  He kept wanting more and was trying to compete with the people he worked with.  Morrie told him that these weren't what you really wanted deep inside.  After reading this, I rethought my wants and desires in life.  All I ever do is save money to buy more stuff I don't need.  After I buy something I want, I start all over again.  Tuesdays with Morrie helped me realize that there are much more important things in life.

            Because of Tuesday's with Morrie, I feel that I have a better understanding of what makes people truly happy in life.  I can better understand what my grandma went through for two years and not feel so heavy-hearted about her death.  This book has inspired me to move on from her death and start looking for what I want in life.

 

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                    Alaina Templeton