essay

this is my essay i wrote for language arts.

The Dark, Empty Space
I have always wanted to go to space. It would be awesome to see Earth as one of the sparks of lights on the pitch black sky. I would also love to go to the places that no one had gone to. When I was ten, my sister told me that we are very tiny compare to the universe, and that there are an unimaginable numbers of unknown stars and planets out there. I have always wanted to be the first to walk on a sphere that is farther than the Moon and out of humans’ imagination.
“So are you going to join the science contest?” said my friend Brianna. “I don’t know yet.” I said. “I heard the prize was a trip to space.” said Brianna. I never answered her but I was sure that I wanted to go. So as soon as I got home that day, I got to thinking and brainstorming my ideas. Then it came to me like a bolt of lightning. I stared at my old water bottle that was slightly crushed. I put it in a hot, small place. “Pop! Pop!” I heard a similar sound but felt so interesting at the time. As soon as I take it out, the wrinkly bottle was perfectly shaped as if it was just packed by the company. I used my background knowledge and came up with a conclusion that the bottle’s changes have something to do with convection currents. The judges absolutely loved my project. I won the competition! I got to go to space, to Mars!
The trip took place a week later. When I got to the spaceship’s site, I was given a white space-suit. It felt sort of uncomfortable as first, but I was too excited to even care! When the rocket took off, I felt the ground shaking as if there was an earthquake. I felt a rush running through my body as I was being shot out of Earth’s atmosphere. I started feeling weightless not soon after. It was dizzy at first and then I had fun floating around. Then an amazing sight came to my eyes. It was the asteroid belt and Earth’s rotation. The farther I was away from Earth; it became just a little dot of light in the dark space. It is then that I know we’re so small compared to the ever-expanding universe. Anyway, my feet touched Mars in a couple days. It felt very dry. It was completely different from our Earth. I was definitely expecting some Martians walking around. Unfortunately there was no one. Nevertheless, I still believe that there is life out there in this enormous universe.
When I got back, my friends were all over me, asking about my wonderful trip. There were so many questions that I soon got a headache. But I loved the trip, it was fascinating. Brianna was the most curious. She asks about a hundred questions!
All I could say was: “I will never forget this trip. It was the best time of my life.” I was so proud of myself! I hope to explore more and beyond Mars in the future! A trip to the disk of the Milky Way Galaxy would be awesome!

by Binh An Nguyen edited by Hong An