Franklin Cierra
Professor C. Golden
Composition 101
2 September 2014
The Demise of Time It all began December 8, 2013. It was half-past eight in the morning. This date marks the day when it felt as if my life had taken a dramatic turn for worst. Life was an erupting volcano, and I was the hot, displaced lava desperately searching for a locus to give me comfort from the dreadful night I encountered. I must confess the anguish that I was experiencing was self-inflicted and well deserved. This occurrence was gut wrenching and heart breaking all in the same breath; however, it changed my work ethic and time management skills for the better. Well, I am assured that you are wondering what sparked this traumatic chain of events, and I am here to provide the cause for the outcome. Ms. Alva Martucci, the straight-laced, no nonsense, firm yet effective English teacher assigned to the class a five page research paper with a minimum word count of one thousand two hundred and fifty words, and the topic of choice was “Are fast food establishments truly the source for obesity?’’ This assignment was given a two week deadline, and it was expected to be well thought out and unique in approach to suggest an answer to the topic at hand. I thought to myself, “This assignment is as easy as finding a cop at a doughnut shop! I will just wait until I find myself a bit of inspiration, and then I’ll knock this assignment out of the ballpark.” The spark of inspiration that I desperately needed never came to me. It was twelve- thirty a.m., and I had already quaffed down my second cup of java. Tiredness seemed to devour me, but there would be no rest for the weary. I felt like a runner in a sixteen hundred meter race; things started off quiet pleasantly, and if can say so myself, I was doing an amazing job considering the circumstances. After an hour elapsed, the second page of the essay was drawing to a close. In a mere two hours more, page three had been successfully completed. From the looks of things, I was the woman on top, and my indefatigable disposition would allow my efforts to reign supreme. However, the story did not play out in the manner in which I thought it would. I am assured at some moment in your life you have heard the idiom, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” My failure to follow this saying lead to trouble in paradise during my action-packed journey to complete the task. In the previous moments, it felt as if time stood still and perhaps was even on my side. I was on page four, and I still had three hours left to spare, so with an air of confidence, I continued to type. Only three-fourths of a page remained to be written. Suddenly, my computer screen went blank, and a pressure in my chest built. My heart felt as if it would explode from the infinite amount of emotion that swept across me. My chest began to close, and the air I was breathing felt thick, so I began to gasp. My eyes burned with agony as tears illuminated my eyes like gemstones. My stomach was in knots, and chills ran up and down my spine. After weeping for what seemed like an eternity, my head began to pound. Before I knew it, sleep was the predator, and I was its prey. After taking a catnap for about an hour, I woke up and logged back on the PC to check for any hope of reviving my essay. Deep within my heart, I was fully aware that the odds were stacked against me. However, I knew that if this paper was on file in the PC, that there is a risen God. I slowly reopened Microsoft Word, and I was totally prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. Thank God! It was there: all of my hard work, dedication, pride, and my refusal to fail compiled into what is known today as a research paper. After laughing and crying, I decided I must proceed forward, and this time I must complete it. Finally, I crossed the finish line. Now there was only one thing left to do: print this