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Prompt responses due Friday

14. Procrastination. If you had more time, you’d be able to put it off longer. What do you put off to the last moment? Why? Tell a story about how you just barely got something done in time – or didn’t.
Alternate: Splat! Use that word in a story or a poem.

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Beginning

Beginning

By Miles Latham
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

Was there ever a beginning of time?
Perhaps our universe has existed forever.
Maybe the concept of time as we know it is eternal,
Going on ceaselessly,
With no end in sight:
From the past and into the future.
The present may be a barely perceptual moment
On the path of perpetuity.
But it is fascinating to think that possibly,
One time long ago,
There was a moment
Where the nothingness of space
Altered itself forever
And time as we know it began.

UVM Mentor Feedback

Hi Miles,

I really love your poem. What a great thing to write about- and who hasn't wondered what there was before time began, because time had to come from something, right? I think you tackle the subject wonderfully. I especially like the last part where you question the fact that the universe has always existed by wondering:
"But it is fascinating to think that possibly,
One time long ago,
There was a moment
Where the nothingness of space
Altered itself forever
And time as we know it began."

Something you might consider working on would be to think about this idea of time becoming something out of nothing. If you had to describe this moment, what would it be like? Was there suddenly something that was created out of nothing, or did it grow? It might also be interesting to think about the concept of time itself. Did time begin when the universe began, or is time just a human invention that is completely relative and arbitrary? These ideas would be fun to explore in a second draft. You could try free-writing a little bit about some of these questions and then try and see if you can integrate them into your piece.

Great job, Miles! Keep writing!

Kate Maciejowski
UVM Mentor

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