Hello everyone! I recently participated in the Harvard Crimson Global Essay Competition and wrote a piece based on a prompt. I chose the prompt: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" I thoroughly enjoyed writing outside my comfort zone. In this essay competition, I wrote something I normally wouldn't write but was incredibly pleased with the outcome.
The following essay was my submission. Hope you enjoy it!
Reveries
Another monotonous day of school, I thought as I lazily rested my elbows on the desk, listening to Ms Emily ramble on about plants. “Trees grow fruits, which then produce seeds” the words entered one ear and exited the other. I stared at the ebony slate; voices muffled. I felt my head spin and decided to lie it down. “Only a few seconds,” I warned myself as a familiar golden spiral started to pirouette against the pitch-black background of my eyelids. It spun faster. I felt my legs go numb as my head began to pound. I remember how the tips of my fingers felt like ice every time the convoluted curlicue whipped me into a dream. “Here we go again,” I thought.
A silhouette of a green sphere came into focus. It was the Earth. Towering buildings stood motionless as the world around them progressed. I vaguely remember seeing rambunctious people on the streets creating a tumultuous racket, further pressuring my pounding head and sanity. “What was the world like before these clamorous humans existed?” I imagined the tranquillity of pure silence. Moments later, a spontaneous jerk carried me backwards, butterflies flooding my stomach as they do on roller coasters.
This time, forested land enveloped the Earth. “Was I time travelling in my dream?” I relished the beauty and serenity of the lush, green impenetrable canopy.
“Natalie!” A booming voice adjourned my reveries. I looked up, sunlight piercing my sensitive eyes. At the sight of Ms Emily’s face a stone’s throw away, I pushed my chair back and sat upright. “Paying attention, Natalie?” she asked with a stern look on her face. “Yes, Ms Emily.” I lied innocently. “Then could you explain where plants come from?” her words echoed as my eyelids fluttered shut once more.
Back into my daydream, I adored the thriving forest, questioning its origination. ‘Well, plants come from seeds.’
At that thought, I was whisked away, to another time, (further into the past, I presume) to see a glowing fireball.
“It’s a special planet.” Startled by the words of a lady, I saw water profusely ripple downward and extinguish the flames. Her soothing voice whispered, “Control these flames, let its beauty shine.”
A vaporous shadow slowly plummeted down, the water continuing to extinguish the fire and forming a crust. Time froze as I vigilantly watched the petite sphere fall in a race against the subsiding flames. Once it came closer, I recognised it. It was a seed, about to perish in the inferno.
“Natalie! Are you okay?” A booming voice instantly adjourned my thoughts. Fresh liquid splashed onto my face as I opened my eyes to see my class looming over me in the medical ward. I nodded as the nurse handed me a glass of lemonade. “Now, who will tell Natalie where seeds come from?” Ms Emily asked the class. “Seeds come from fruits which grow on plants,” my friend Annie confidently answered while I wondered which plant the seed in my daydream came from?
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